IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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n  WIST  MAM  STtHT 

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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


n:--:.': 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Instituta  for  Hiatorisal  Microraproductiona  /  Inatitut  Canadian  da  microraproductiona  hiatoriquaa 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notas/Notas  tachniquas  at  bibliogrephiquas 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


D 


D 


D 


D 
D 


□ 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommagia 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurAe  et/ou  pellicuMe 


I      I    Cover  title  missing/ 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


Coloured  maps/ 

Cartes  gdographiques  en  couleur 


□    Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 

I      I    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
ReliA  avec  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  re  liure  serrie  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  intirieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajouttes 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais.  lorsque  cela  Atait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  6t6  film6es. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentairas  suppl6mentaires; 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  AtA  possible  da  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mithoda  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiquAs  ci-dessous. 


I      I   Coloured  pages/ 


D 


u\ 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagtes 

Pages  restored  and/oi 

Pages  restaur^es  et/ou  pelliculAes 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxei 
Pages  dAcolor6es,  tachat^es  ou  piqu6es 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d^tach^es 

Showthroughy 
Transparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Qualiti  inAgale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  matarii 
Comprend  du  materiel  supplAmentaire 


r~^  Pages  damaged/ 

|~~|  Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 

r~7|  Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 

ryi  Pages  detached/ 

r~7|  Showthrough/ 

r~~j  Quality  of  print  varies/ 

I      I  Includes  supplementary  material/ 


Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Mition  disponible 

Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc..  ont  At6  filmies  A  nouveau  de  facon  A 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmA  bu  taux  de  rMuction  indiquA  ci-dessous. 


10X 

14X 

16X 

22X 

26X 

30X 

y 

12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


'e 

Stalls 
)8  du 
nodifier 
ir  une 
ilmage 


Th«  copy  film«d  h«r«  hat  b««n  raproduead  thanka 
to  tha  ganaroaity  of: 

Library 

Trtnt  Univanity,  Petarborough 


Tha  imagaa  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  boat  quality 
poaaibia  eonaidaring  tha  condition  and  lagibility 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  apacificationa. 


Original  copiaa  in  printad  pafiar  eovara  ara  fllmad 
baginning  with  tha  front  covar  and  anding  on 
tha  laat  paga  with  a  printad  or  illuatratad  impraa- 
•ion.  or  tha  back  covar  whan  approprlata.  All 
othar  original  copiaa  ara  fllmad  baginning  on  tha 
firat  paga  with  a  printad  or  illuatratad  Improa- 
•ion.  and  anding  on  tha  laat  paga  with  a  printad 
or  Illuatratad  impraaalon. 


IS 


L'axamplaira  filmA  fut  raproduit  grflce  A  la 
giniroaitt  da: 

Library 

Trant  Unlvanity,  Patarborougb 

Laa  imagaa  tuivantaa  ont  M  raproduites  avec  le 
plua  grand  soin.  compta  tanu  de  la  condition  et 
da  ia  nattat*  da  l'axamplaira  film«,  at  an 
conformity  avac  iaa  conditions  du  contrat  da 
filmaga. 

Laa  axamplairaa  originaux  dont  la  couvartura  en 
papiar  aat  imprim^a  tont  fiimte  an  commanpant 
par  la  pramiar  plat  at  an  tarminant  soit  par  la 
darnlAra  paga  qui  comporto  una  amprainte 
d'impraaalon  ou  d'illuatration,  soit  par  la  sacond 
plat,  salon  la  cas.  Tous  las  autras  axamplbiras 
originaux  sont  filmte  an  commandant  par  la 
pramiAra  paga  qui  comporta  una  ampreinta 
d'impraaalon  ou  d'illustration  at  mn  tarminant  par 
la  darnlAra  paga  qui  comporta  une  telle 
empreinte. 


Tha  laat  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  -^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED ").  or  the  symbol  ▼  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  appliea. 


Un  das  symbolaa  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
darniAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  seion  le 
cas:  le  symbols  -^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE ',  le 
symbols  ▼  signifie  "FIN". 


Maps,  platea.  charta.  etc..  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratioa.  Thoae  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  expoaure  ara  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  aa  many  frames  aa 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  plenches.  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
filmto  A  des  taux  de  rMuction  diff^rents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichA.  il  est  film6  A  partir 
de  I'angia  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas.  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'imagea  nicassaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mAthode. 


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AMERICA, 


AND 


AMERICAN    METHODISM. 


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rnEFATOJlV   LET1'KK;S 


BY 


THF   HKV.  TIK.JMA.'^   K.  ;>AIUil':NT,   ;i>  JX,   or   DAl/ITMOliE, 


A.NP 


TllK  RKV.  JOHN  ]iA.NiNA.U,  i»  1)., 


Ikistrnttti  Uam  C^viclnal  ^-I'thiu-s  b'u  tbv   I^uthor. 


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I'E,  EMMINS,  ^'  To    ^-,  JOHN  STUEET. 


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1 


AMERICA, 


AND 


AMERICAN   METHODISM. 


BY  THE 

REV.  FREDERICK  J.  JOBSON. 


•WITH 

PREFATORY  LETTERS 


BT 


THE  REV.  THOMAS  B.  SARGENT,  D.D.,  OF  BALTIMORE, 


AND 


THE  REV.  JOHN  HANNAH,  D.D., 

RIPMSBmATIVE  FROM  TQE   BRITUH  CONFERENCE  IN  TUB  TEARS   1824  AND   1856. 


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NEW  YORK: 
VIRTUE,  EMMINS,  &  CO.,  26,  JOHN  STREET. 

1857. 


^    \^(o   -  "l^^oZ, 


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LONDON : 
JAMKM  8.   VlllTCi:,  PIll.NTEIl,  CITY  KOAO. 


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B. 


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TO  MY  WIFE, 


MRS.  ELIZABETH  JOBSOX, 


^tst  f  dtns, 


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ORIGINALLY  WRITTEN  TO  HER  PROM  AMERICA., 


AND  NOW  PUBLISHED  IN  ENGLAND, 


ARE  HEREBY 


DEDICATED 


BT 


HER  DEVOTED  HUSBAND. 


Bastbbook,  Bradfokd,  Yorkshibe, 
Juljf  1, 1857. 


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LETTER  FROM  THE  RKV.  TIIOS.  B,  SARGENT.  D.D., 

OF  THE   METHODIST  KPISCOPAI-   CHUnCH,    BALTIMORE. 


Baltimore,  Maryland,  U.  S., 

May  9,  1857. 
To  the  Rev.  Frederick  J.  Jobson, 

Bradford,  Yorkshire,  England. 

Beloved  BROTHMi  in  Christ  Jesus, 

I  leam  that  vou  have  written  a  book  on  "America,  and 
American  Methodism,  and  I  am  eagerly  looking  for  its  arrival  here, 
— not  doubting  that,  like  the  former  productions  of  your  pen  and 
pencil,  it  will  contain  vigorous  and  life-like  representations  of  the 
subjects  to  which  it  relates.  In  the  earnest  desire  to  see  and  read 
your  book,  I  am  not  alone ;  the  many  thousands  who  recently  heard 
vou  and  my  earlv  friend,  the  llev.  Dr.  Hannah,  in  the  "Western, 
Eastern,  and  Middle  States  of  our  Republic,  and  who,  with  many 
thousands  more  in  all  parts,  even  to  Oregon  and  California,  have 
since  read  the  reports  of  the  addresses  wliich  in  succession  you 
delivered  concerning  us  to  your  brethren  in  the  British  Conference 
at  Bristol,  anxiously  await  with  me  the  coming  of  your  book. 

Having  had  the  honour  of  accompanying  my  ever  revered  friend. 
Bishop  Soule,  to  the  British  Conference  of  1842,  and  mingling  freely 
with  English  Methodists  on  their  own  ground,  I  cherish  the  deepest 
interest  in  whatever  relates  to  the  umon  of  two  great  sections  of 
Methodism.  Pleasant,  indeed,  arc  the  remembrances  of  my  inter- 
course and  associations  with  English  Methodist  ministers  and  their 
people !  How  often,  since  my  return  to  my  own  country,  have  1 
recurred  in  thought  to  the  more  intimate  fraternal  associations  I  had 
with  you  and  other  younger  ministers  (as  then  accounted)  of  the 
body  m  England's  great  metropolis.  And  when  I  found  that  you 
were  appointed,  with  Dr.  Hannah,  to  attend  the  General  Confei'cnce 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  America,  I  rejoiced  with  ex- 
ceeding great  joy.  Such  interchanges  of  ministers  from  the  two 
sides  of  tne  Atlantic  serve,  I  .am  confident,  to  bind  us  more  closely 
together,  both  as  nations  and  churches;  .and  the  publication  of  your 
views  on  "America,  and  American  Methodism,"  I  have  no  doubt, 
will  strengthen  the  bond  between  us. 


\ 

I 


LETTER  FROM  THE  REV.  DR  SARGENT. 

It  is,  perhaps,  too  much  to  expect  from  a  passing  visitor  that  he 
will  fuUy  represent  us  in  all  respects.  Of  this,  nowever,  I  am  sure  you 
will  not,  as  too  many  English  tourists  have  done,  wilfully  misrepresent 
us ;  you  will  at  least  try  to  do  justice  to  '*  Brother  Jonathan."  It 
has  been  said  that  "  foreign  books  concerning  us  are  read  with  equal 
avidity,  whether  they  do  us  justice  or  injustice — whether  they  extol 
us  or  abuse  us ;"  and  old  Christopher  North  averred  (and  who  should 
know  better  than  he  ?),  that  "  the  Yankees  loved  to  be  thrashed," 
and  that  a  book  or  magazine  (Blackwood's,  for  instance)  "  sells  all  the 
better  for  having  a  spice  of  abuse  in  it  occasionally."  It  may  be 
so :  Brotiier  Jonathan  may  even  like  to  be  thrashed  with  the  pen 
(for  abuse  in  any  more  serious  form  he  is  not  so  willing  to  submit 
to),  and  if  so,  he  has  assuredly  had  much  of  what  he  likes,  for  un- 
doubtedly English  writers  on  America  have  not  flattered  us.  In  too 
many  instances  they  have  sought  to  find  reasons  for  complaint  against 
us ;  they  have  magnified  petty  deviations*  from  their  own  customs, 
and  have  so  exaggerated  national  peculiarities  as  to  set  them  forth  as 
serious  breaches,  not  oidy  of  good  taste,  but  of  sound  morals.  Dr. 
Dixon,  in  his  book  of  broad,  deep  views,  did  not  so  treat  us ;  he 
evidently  put  a  candid  and  fair  construction  upon  us  and  upon  our 
institutions — except  in  relation  to  the  vexed  question  of  Slavery  and 
Prison  Discipline,  which  a  foreigner  travelling  among  us  cannot  fully 
comprehend.  And  I  have  no  doubt  that  in  your  fortlicoming  volume 
you  will  be  equally  candid  towards  us,  ana,  to  use  two  significant 
words  I  first  learned  in  yoiir  own  country,  that  it  will  oe  both 
"taking"  and  "telling." 

It  is  somewhat  strange  that  so  little  has  been  written  and  pub- 
lished bv  the  parties  who  have  through  succeeding  periods  sustained, 
fiersonally,  the  friendly  and  fraternal  relation  of  appointed  delegates 
from  the  American  and  English  Methodist  Churches.  The  Kev. 
John  (afterwaids  Bishop)  Emory's  "  Impressions  "  of  1820,  appeared 
in  1841,  in  a  short  chapter  of  his  Memoirs,  five  years  after  his  sud- 
den and  mysterious  removal.  The  Letters  of  the  venerable  Bichard 
Reece,  in  1824,  and  of  the  llev.  William  Lord,  in  1836,  found  a 
place  only  in  your  Methodist  Magazine,  and  were  almost  wholly  unread 
liere.  The  late  Dr.  Cayscrs  (subsequently  bishop  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  Soutii,  whose  resemblance  to  tue  "  saintly  Fletcher " 
was  as  remarkable  as  that  of  Bishop  Soule  to  the  Duke  of  Welling- 
ton) published  nothing  in  relation  to  his  sojourn  in  your  blessed 
land  m  the  year  1828.  Dr.  Fisk  devoted  only  one  chapter  of  his 
large  volume  on  Europe  to  his  Viission  to  the  British  Conference  in 
iSiiO.  Dr.  Newton  condensed  his  observations  on  America  into 
eloquent  speeches,  with  which  he  delighted  audiences  throughout  the 
United  Kingdom,  Bishop  Soulc  wrote  a  few  letters  for  tlie  Chns- 
iian  Adrocaies  of  New  York  and  Cincinnati,  but  was  compelled,  by 
the  pressure  of  episcopal  duties,  to  suspend  them  ;  so  that  Dr.  Dixon 
has  hitherto  been  the  chief  writer  among  the  messengers  of  our 


':"r 


'^•- 


LETTER  FROM  THE  REV.  DR.  SAUGENT. 


cbu*  3.  You  will,  I  doubt  not,  secure  an  honourable  place  in 
Rsso  .Ion  with  him;  and  will,  after  your  own  manner,  forge  and 
fosl.ioo  another  link  in  that  golden  chain  of  "Christian  unity  and 
oneness "  for  Wesleyan  Methodism  "  all  tlie  world  over,"  as  our 
mutual  friend,  tha  Rev.  John  Scott,  happily  expressed  it  in  your  last 
Conference.  Such  publications  are  at  least  IFesleyan  in  their 
object ;  for  Mr.  Wesley,  in  the  last  letter  he  sent  to  our  continent, 
and  within  a  month  of  his  death,  plainly  expressed  his  view  on  the 
desirableness  of  making  known  in  England  what  God,  by  Methodism, 
has  done  in  America.  That  letter,  which  bears  the  date  of  "  near 
London,  February  1st,  1791,"  was  sent  to  the  Rev.  Ezekiel  Cooper, 
of  Philadelphia,  and  is  carefully  preserved  among  us.  Its  conclusion 
is  in  the  following  words : — 

"  We  want  some  of  you  lo  give  us  a  connected  relation  of  what 
the  Lord  has  been  doing  in  America  from  the  time  that  Richard 
Boardman  accepted  the  invitation,  and  left  his  country  to  serve  you. 
See  that  you  never  give  place  to  one  thought  of  separating  from 
your  brethren  in  Europe.  Lose  no  opportunity  of  declaring  to  all 
men  that  the  Methodists  are  one  people  in  all  the  world,  and  that  it 
is  their  full  determination  so  to  continue — 

Though  mountains  rise  and  oceans  roll 
To  sever  us  in  vain. 

To  the  care  of  our  common  Lord  I  commit  you,  and  am 

"  Your  affectionate  friend  and  brother, 

"John  Wesley." 

When  our  venerable  founder  inserted,  without  the  marks  of  quo- 
tation, the  above  precious  couplet  from  the  fifty-second  and  last  of 
the  "  Hymns  for  those  that  seek  and  those  that  have  Redemption  in 
the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,"  published  in  1746, — a  couplet  which  has 
been  a  watchword  of  Methodism  for  more  than  a  centenary  of  years, 
— he  might  have  added  a  double  verse,  with  the  same  sentiments, 
from  the  237th  hymn  of  the  second  volume  of  "  Hymns  and  Sacred 
Poems,  by  Charles  Wesley,  a.d.  1749,"  and  which  you  have  omitted 
from  the  487th  hymn,— 

"  Breathes  as  in  us  both  one  soul 

When  most  distinct  in  place — 
Inter))osing  '  oceans '  roll, 

Nor  hinder  our  '  embrace ; ' 
Each  as  on  Ids  '  mountain '  stands 

Reaching  hearts  across  tlie  flood, 
Join  our  liearts  if  not  our  iiands, 

And  sing  the  pardoning  Gud." 

What  an  accomplishment  of  this  poetic  prophecy  have  you  seen  in 
the  General  Conference  of  Indianapolis,  whore  you  exchanged  fra- 
ternal salutations  and  greetings  with  more  than  200  delegates  from 
States  which   extend  From  the  shores  of   the  two  great   oceans, 


}■■■ 


V  \ 


LETTER  FROM  THE  REV.  DR.  SARGENT. 

and  over  the  slopes  of  the  two  great  mountain  chains.  These  were 
seen  in  "  embrace  "  with  deputies  from  England  and  Ireland,  from 
Germany  and  from  Canada,  while  the  converted  Indian  stood  in 
the  midst  of  us,  to  relate  with  tears  wliat  God  had  done  for  him 
and  for  his  people !  And  so  in  your  own  Conference  at  Bristol, 
when  the  mother  Church  of  Methodism  gathered  her  children  from 
all  parts  of  the  world  so  numerously  around  her,  and  heard  them 
tell  of  what  God  was  doing  by  his  servants,  not  only  in  her  own 
land,  but  also  in  Ireland,  France,  Canada,  Australia,  and  in  the 
United  States  of  America!  These,  both  here  and  in  your  own 
assembly,  were  all  "  likeminded  one  towards  another,  according  to 
Christ  Jesus ;  with  one  mind  and  one  mouth  glorifying  God,  even 
the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ! " 

Our  late  General  Conference,  after  vour  departure,  gave  evidence 
of  its  desire  to  maintain  the  union  wuich  so  happily  exists  between 
British  and  American  Methodism,  by  appointing  Bishop  Simpson, 
one  of  the  "  seven  stars  "  of  our  churclies,  and  the  eloquent  and 
learned  Dr.  M'Clintock,  to  convey  to  their  fathers  and  brethren, 
both  in  England  and  dear  old  Ireland,  our  Christian  and  filial  saluta- 
tions. And  let  us  earnestly  hope,  and  believingly  pray,  that  Wes- 
leyan  Methodism  "  all  the  world  over  "  may  contmue  one ;  for  there 
is  one  body  and  one  spirit,  even  as  we  are  called  in  one  hope  of  our 
calling ;  "  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  one  God  and  Father  of 
all,  who  is  above  all,  and  through  all,  and  in  us  all." 

In  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  and  in  the  bond  of  peace, 
I  am, 
My  dear  Brother  in  the  Lord, 

Yours  ever  afifectionately, 

THOMAS  B.  SARGENT. 


\  t 


y 


3  H^' 

1 


I  "p;/ 


PREFACE. 


lENT. 


I  WAS  unexpectedly  appointed,  by  the  Wesleyan  Con- 
ference assembled  at  Leeds,  in  August,  1855,  to  ac- 
company the  Rev.  John  Hannah,  D.D.,  to  the  General 
Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of 
America,  which  was  to  open  its  sessions  at  Indiana- 
polis, in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  on  the  1st  of 
May,  1856.  On  receiving  this  appointment,  I  ar- 
ranged for  my  wife's  willing  participation  in  our 
voyage.  But  this  agreeable  arrangement  had  to  be 
given  up  before  the  time  for  my  departure  arrived. 
On  account  of  the  severe  affliction  of  her  aged  mother, 
I  had  to  leave  Mrs.  Jobson  in  England.  So  for  my 
own  relief,  as  well  as  for  the  sake  of  my  wife,  I  wrote 
home,  from  different  points  of  our  long  travel,  as  fre- 
quently and  as  fully  as  circumstances  would  allow. 

The  following  Letters,  in  substance  and  in  most  of 
their  particulars,  were  thus  written  home;  and,  at 
the  time,  without  the  purpose  of  publication.  I  pub- 
lish them  now,  not  only  because  friends  of  sound  judg- 
ment and  experience  advise  it,  but  for  reasons  which 


vgm 


Vlll 


PREFACE. 


seem  to  me  to  render  their  publication,  in  a  great 
degree,  a  necessity  and  a  duty. 

From  the  numerous  inquiries  made  of  me  since 
my  return,  and  urgent  requests  to  speak  and  lecture 
on  America,  I  should,  if  I  were  to  answer  all  the 
inquiries,  and  yield  to  all  the  requests,  be  in  danger 
of  neglecting  my  ministerial  charge.  To  end  this 
difficulty,  and  because  an  account  seems  due  to  the 
ministers  and  churches  in  whose  name  I  went,  I 
respectfully  present  the  account  in  this  form. 

The  false  views  which  are  entertained  by  many  in 
England,  through  the  reading  of  books  containing 
caricatures  rather  than  true  portraits  of  America,  also 
determine  me  to  publish  these  Letters.  I  humbly 
hope  they  may  tend  to  correct  such  views,  at  least, 
in  the  minds  of  some. 

Though  written  in  connection  with  a  particular 
object,  —  the  interchange  of  Christian  and  friendly 
salutations  by  kindred  churches, — still  the  following 
sketches,  I  trust,  will  prove  of  some  interest  to  gene- 
ral readers,  as  well  as  to  English  and  American  Me- 
thodists. They  present,  at  least,  frank  outlines  of  the 
people  and  their  manners,  of  the  cities,  scenery,  and 
resources  of  America,  as  well  as  of  its  Methodism. 
I  have  striven  to  place  the  truth  before  readers,  and 
if  I  fail  it  is  not  for  want  of  purity  of  intent. 

I  must,  of  course,  anticipate  one  objection  to  these 
sketches,  —  that  they  are  the  production  of  a  mere 
visitor  to  a  great  country,  and  not  of  one  long  resident 


"^ 


PREFACE. 


k 


in  it,  and  therefore  not  likely  to  have  sound  impres- 
sions of  it.  But  I  reply  that  the  true  characteristics  of 
a  people  and  of  a  country  are  often  best  seen  by  fresh 
eyes,  and  that  they  often  lose  force  by  long  familiarity, 
so  as  to  render  failings  undistinguishable  from  weak 
excellences.  The  best  impressions  from  an  engraved 
plate  are  those  taken  while  it  is  new,  and  while  the 
lines  are  fresh  and  clear.  So  it  is  with  impressions 
from  the  mind,  especially  when  they  have  been  placed 
on  paper  amid  the  scenes  and  objects  described.  The 
poet  Gray — no  dull  observer  himself — has  said  that  a 
word  written  on  the  spot  is  worth  a  cart-load  of  recol- 
lections. The  saying  encourages  me  to  hope  for  a 
cordial  acceptance  of  these  sketchea  with  the  general 
reader,  as  well  as  with  my  Methodist  brethren.  And 
I  congratulate  myself  that  I  have  so  far  succeeded 
as  to  satisfy  the  mind  of  the  Kev.  Dr.  Hannah,  with 
its  delicate  appreciations.  He  having  been  present 
with  me  in  the  scenes  described,  has  at  my  requesi 
read  the  Letters,  that,  if  necessary,  he  might  correct 
me  in  any  erroneous  view  I  might  have  taken.  The 
following  is  his  letter  upon  what  I  have  written. 

F.  J.  J. 


I 


i 


1  ,  *  ^ 


■MMU 


<*mmimm 


\    \ 


DID8BURY,  Manchestkb, 
April  20M,  1857. 

My  dear  Mr.  Jobson, — I  have  read  your  Letters  on 
"  America,  and  American  Methodism  "  with  great  satis- 
faction, and  beg  to  express  my  personal  thanks  to  you 
for  the  care  and  pains  which  you  have  taken  in  the 
preparation  of  them.  They  vividly  recall  to  mind  the 
scenes  and  events  through  which  we  passed  in  our  late 
happy  companionship,  and  which  were  of  too  extra- 
ordinary a  character  ever  to  be  forgotten.  To  the 
fidelity  of  your  descriptions,  as  well  as  to  their  beauty 
and  force,  I  give  my  willing  testimony.  You  v/ill  also 
permit  me  to  mention  the  peculiar  gratification  which 
you  have  aflforded  to  me  in  what  you  relate  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  generally,  of  the  ever  dear 
and  honoured  ministers  and  friends  with  whom  we 
enjoyed  so  pleasing  a  fellowship,  and  of  the  virtues  and 
lives  of  exemplary  saints  departed.  I  follow  you  with 
affectionate  sympathy  in  the  details  which  you  supply 
of  the  enthralled  negro  race,  and  of  the  Indian  tribes, 
now,  alas  !  so  visibly  fading  away.  The  composition  of 
your  Letters,  with  their  genial  tone  and  spirit,  will,  I 
doubt  not,  commend  them  to  your  readers  of  every  class. 
And  I  trust  that  the  effect  of  the  whole  will  prove  to  be 
auxiliary  to  that  closer  fraternal  union  between  the  two 
large  families  of  Methodism,  which  it  was  the  object  of 
our  mission  to  promote ;  while  it  will  not  be  unfriendly 
to  a  freer  interchange  of  kindly  sentiments  and  feelings 
between  the  two  chief  communities  of  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race.     Believe  me  to  be,  my  dear  Mr.  Jobson, 

Yours  ever,  most  truly, 

John  Hannah. 

To  the  Rev.  Frederick  J,  Jobson. 


'^ 


CONTENTS. 


LETTER    I. 


VOYAGE  OVER  THE  ATLANTIC. 

Departure  from  Liverpool — Passage  down  the  Mersey  and  into  the 
Irish  Sea — Early  Anxiety  and  Discomfort  of  Voyagers — First 
Dinner  "on  Board" — The  "Africa"  Steamship  and  its  Accommo- 
dations— Si<ctch  of  Character  among  Passengers — The  Atlantic — 
Perilous  Storm — Awful  Night  Scene — Claims  of  Seamen  for  Re- 
membrance— Sabbath  Service — The  GiJf  Stream — Dangerous  Fog — 
Sudden  transition  into  Smooth  Water — iVew  York  Bay      .... 


rAoi 


LETTER    IL 

NEW  YORK. 

Fair  way  of  judging  of  an  American  City  and  of  American  Manners — 
General  Sitetch  of  New  York — Broadway — Monster  Hotels — Ame- 
rican Ladies — Mixed  Population — Tone  of  Equality — Unforeign 
feeling  of  an  Englishman  when  he  lands  in  America — Evening  Party 
— Newspapers,  Arts,  Institutions,  Churches,  &c.,  in  New  Yo'-k — 
Methodism — Novel  Pulpit — Sabbath  Services — Rise  of  Methodism 
in  New  York 


LETTER   IIL 


PHILADELPHIA. 

Mingled  Annoyances  and  Pleasures  of  Railway  Travelling  in  America — 
Route  through  New  Jersey — Arrival  at  Philadelphia — Scene  among 
the  Negro  Coachmen — Provoking  IndiiFerence  of  American  Hotel- 
keepers — Hotel  Life  in  America — Exposure  of  the  Young  to  Injurious 
Influences — Order  and  Repose  of  the  Quaker  City — Appearance  of 
the  Streets  and  Public  Buildings — Methodism  in  Philadelphia — The 
Hall  of  Independence — Franklin's  Tomb 40 


n 


ili 


CONTENTS. 


LETTER    IV. 


WASHINGTON. 


PAoa 


R  ilway  Journey  over  Slnvc  Territory — Arrival  at  Washington — Un- 
lilled-up  Plan  of  the  City — Po|)iilution  and  Viee — Manners  of  the 
"  Rcpresentttlives" — Goiety  of  Dress — Dandy  Negroes — The  Negro  ,, 
Bazaar — The  Capitol — Houses  of  Congress — Scene  in  the  House  of 
Representatives — Contrast  to  the  British  House  of  Commons — 
Political  Parties  in  tiie  United  States— President's  House— Congress 
Chaplains — Terrific  Thunderstorm — Plainness  of  the  American  Chief 
Magistrate 68 


LETTER    V. 


BALTIMOUB. 


Origin  of  the  City — General  Description  of  it — American  Aristocracy — 
Coloured  Population — Evils  of  Slavery — The  "Liberia"  Project — 
"Washington  Monument" — "Battle  Monument" — "Green  Mount 
Cemetery" — Methodist  Cemetery,  or,  "the  Mount  of  Olives" — Im- 
portance of  Methodism  in  Baltimore — Relics  of  Early  Methodism—  '^ 
Record  of  Early  Labourers — Cohmred  Churches  of  Methodists — 
Preaching  and  Memorable  Scene  of  Excitement  at  the  African  Me- 
thodist Church  in  Shar[)e  Street — Scriptural  Hopes  for  the  Eman- 
cipation of  the  Euslaved  Race ^6 


LETTER  YL 

THE  ALLEGHANY   MOUNTAINS. — CINCINNATI. 

Railway  from  Baltimore  to  Cumberland — Company  ol"  Methodist  Min- 
isters— The  Riv<;r  Potomac — Town  of  Cumberland — Hotel  Customs, 
and  Iced  Water — Striking  View  from  the  Hill  above  Cumberland — 
Railway  over  the  AUeghanies — Character  of  the  Scenery — Town  of 
Wheeling — Policy  which  dictated  the  Formation  of  the  great  Rail- 
way to  the  West — Names  of  American  Towns — Free  State  of  Ohio 
— The  located  Minister — Horrors  of  Slavery — The  Ohio  Rivtr — 
Kentucky  left  behind — Arrival  at  Cincinnati 92 


LETTER  VIL 

INDIANAPOLIS. 

State  of  Indiana :  its  Rapid  Growth — The  City  of  Indianapolis — His 
Excellency  the  Governor  and  his  House — Methodism  in  the  Slate 
and  in  the  City — Public  Religious  Services — American  Preaching — 
A  Bishop's  Sermon — The  Sabbath  School — A  Love-feast — Ame- 
rican Fires — Political  Life — A  Stump  Orator — The  Ballot-box — An 
Inner  Circle  in  American  Society — Southern  Visitors — Glimpses  of 
Slave-life — An  Irishman's  Bull — Ministerial  Intercourse — Sad  News 
from  England 108 


CONTENTS. 


•  •  ■ 

Xlll 


LETTER  VIII. 

pboghess  of  mktiiodism  in  amkrica  from  1773  to  1792. 

PAoa 
Early  Labourers :  Embury,  Webb,  Bonrdman,  Pilmoor,  Asbury,  Straw- 
bridge,  and  Williams — Spiritual  Lifdcssuoss  of  other  Churches; 
and  their  Quickening,  by  the  Introduction  of  Methodism — Laudable 
Example  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  .Tarratt,  a  Clergyman  of  the  Established 
Church — Mr.  Rankin  sent  by  Mr.  Wesley — Question  of  the  Sacra- 
mental Ordinances — Disturbing  Eil'cct  of  the  Revolution  on  Me- 
thodism— Sufferings  of  the  Preachers — Settlement  of  the  Country, 
and  Re-orgauisation  of  Methodism — Labours  of  Bishop  Asbury, 
Garrettson,  and  .Tesse  Lee — First  General  Conference,  and  Revision 
of  the  Cunstitutiou  of  American  Methodism 126 


LETTEll  IX. 

PROGRESS  OP  METHODISM  IN  AMERICA.  FROM  1792  TO  TUE 
PRESENT   TIME. 

Continued  Persecution,  Privation,  and  Difliculty  of  the  Preachers  and 
Missionaries — Forest  Preaching — Remarkable  Outpourings  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  Striking  Conversions — Canip-mcetings — Great  Mul- 
titudes assembled,  nnd  Extraordinary  Good  elFcctcd — Revival  at 
Baltimore — Extension  of  Methodism  to  Canada — Union  of  Canadian 
and  British  Methodism — Present  Prosperity  of  Canadian  Methodism 
— Energy  of  Methodism  in  the  United  States — Its  Vast  Undertak- 
ings— Not  Free  from  Division  and  Disturbance — Slavery — Separation 
of  North  from  South — Charges  against  F.  A.  Harding  and  Bishop 
Andrew — Resolutions  of  Northern  Methodism  against  Slavery — 
Fraternal  Communication  of  British  Methodism  with  Anti-Slavery 
Methodism  in  America 143 


LETTER  X. 


METHODIST  LABOURERS  IN  AMERICA. 

Francis  Asbury — Dr.  Coke — Asbury's  Peculiar  Adaptations  for  Ame- 
rica— His  Capacity  for  Labour — His  Tirelessness  in  Travelling — His 
Abnegation  of  Self — His  Primitive  Manners — His  Economy  and 
Charity — Anecdote  of  the  sceptical  Doctor — Last  Days  of  Asbury 
— His  last  Sermon  and  triumphant  Death — His  Convert,  Punch, 
the  Negro — Punch  becomes  a  Preacher — Conversion  of  the  perse- 
cating  Overseer — Punch's  Old  Age — His  Prayer  answered — His 
happy  Death 156 


xir 


CONTENTS. 


LETTER  XI. 


IfETKODIST  LAUOURKnN    IN    AMRIIICA. 


PAOI 


Biihop  M'Kcndrpc— Clcnrnen*  of  hit  Convrrsion — Doubt*  his  Call  *o 
the  Ministry — lli»  IVejiuIirr*  n^ttiiiflt  Hinliop  Asbury  diHpvllcd,  and 
hit  entire  (levoteilneM  to  Melhodiain— His  ljiihoiii-i«  in  ''le  \\ir.i, 
and  his  pemonal  lloiineHS  niid  SncceuM— Kltoltd  Itisthop -'!;>nipft-  • 
nionthip  with  Atbury — Pleasing  (!anip-nici'tin(;  Scene — M'l  eii- 
drec'g  l*arcwcli  to  hit  Brethren — Mis  last  l)ny»  and  happy  Departure 
— Bishop  Oeorjre  —  Habits  of  Prayer — Powers  as  a  Preaeher  — 
Kindliness  of  Spirit  —  Ancedote  of  the  Young  Preaeher  and  the 
Bishop — Freeborn  (inrrcttson — His  hnppy  Fiiee  and  hiippy  (-'harnc- 
ter — Remarkable  Conversion — Sets  Free  his  Negroes — Ills  Ministry 
— Suffering  for  Christ — Pleasant  old  Age — Rapturous  Death — 
Jesse  Ijee — Bishop  Roberts — Bishop  Iledding — Bishop  Emory — 
John  Easter— Dr.  Stephen  Oliu,  &c 17? 

LETTER  XII. 

THE   OENEKAL   CONFEnENCE   AT   INDIANAPOLIS. 

Appearanee  of  the  Assembly — The  Bishops — The  Delegates  fVom  the 
For  West — Patriarchal  liabourers — Their  Jealousy  of  Declension — 
Style  of  their  Oratory — Dr.  Jacob  Young — Dr.  Peter  C  rtwright,  or 
"Uncle  Peter" — His  Preaching — Strange  Anecdote — "Father  Fin- 
ley" — His  Tndian  Labours — Sipiire  "  Grey  Eyes,"  the  Indian 
Preacher — Affecting  Scene  in  the  Conference — Order  and  Court*  ay 
of  the  Conference — Its  Reception  uf  Foreign  Reprcsuutatives  .     .     .  202 

LETTER  XIII. 

THE    GENFnA;.   CONEERENrE   AT   INDIANAPOLIS. 

Election  of  ofTicers  —Culling  the  Roll  of  Delegates — Appointment  of 
Committees — Opi  iiing  Aildress  of  the  Bishops — Statistics  of  Ame- 
rican Methodism — Education  and  Literature — Coloured  People's 
College — Periodicals — Missions  to  the  Far  West — To  the  Indians 
— To  Settlers  from  Germany,  the  North  of  Europe,  &c. — To  Liberia, 
to  Sweden,  Norway,  &c.  &c. — Status  of  Methodism  in  America — 
The  new  Proposition  respecting  Slave-holding  Members — Judgment 
of  the  Bishops  thereon 220 

LETTER  XIV. 

4 

THE   GENERAL   CONFERENCE   AT   INDIANAPOLIS. 

Conference  Business — Nnturc  of  Committees  and  ihi'n  Afnde  of  Proce- 
dure— Chief  Subjects  01  Interest  in  the  Pro. "i'Ii\i>,  >.'  \  uferencc 
New  Metropolitan  Church  for  New  York —  I  in  hiole  Jiiuse — Cause 
of  Religious  Education — Appeals  from  Censured  and  Expelled  Minis- 
ters— Extension  of  Time  for  a  Minister's  Stay  in  a  ('ircuit — Dis- 
cussion respecting  the  Office  of  "Presiding  Elder" — Grand  Debate 
respecting  Slevery 236 


^ 


.# 


-".-*•—•»*.*•-'••»- 


CONTENTS. 


X? 


LETTER  XV. 


iI,\VBRY     IN     AMKllICA. 


PMS 


Modified  Chnrnclpr  of  >i)»vt'i7  lu  fowu^  Eiiortiiity  (?C  its  Evil*  in  (he 
South,  and  (III  the  IMantiUi  'is  —Its  (;ornt|»tiiiK  IuHihiicch  'ii»lh  on 
the  KitiiiilicN  »<  Slaveholili  ii*  uiiii  nu  the  Sikvi'x  S(i|ihiMiif.  Iliiik 
Slnvc*  urv  "  llimpy  mnl  t'ontciiti'il,"  exjc  ''I'tl,  and  also  tlic  a.ssi  riM»n 
that  thfir  Ooiiditioii  in  Ah'iIo^oum  to  that  ol'  the  finfflish  ()|)c>raliv  — 
Nationally  Disorgauijiintr  d  ndeiieif*  of  Slnvory — Uopis  for  lis  Kxtcr- 
minulion  from  uxistini;  Agencies:  »nd  C  imHdciife  that  it  will  lie 
brought  to  au  End,  fouiidud  on  the  Diviuc  Character 252 


LETTER  XVL 

TUB   NORTH   AMERICAN    INDIAXJI. 

Tcculinr  Look  of  the  RacT — Mongulian  Di-sccnt^Noldc  Oritrinal  Qua- 
lities—  IIoH|)itality  and  Uravrry — IVgnidcd  State  of  Mnmun — Ita- 
pidly  decreasing  nuiiibcr  of  Red  Men — ChriKtiiin  LaUmi';r«  among 
ihem — John  Stewart,  the  Negro — Father  Fiiiley-  ImJiini  ('onverts 
and  Prcaehcrs — Remarkuhle  Oeeurrenec  among  ll\-  "  i'livl  Head" 
Indians — Kanishment  of  the  Red  Raec  to  the  Far  ^Vest — Melan- 
choly Prospect  of  their  Extinction 271 


LETTER  XVII. 

THE   MISSISSIPPI,   AND   THE   FAR   WEST. 

Our  "Farewell"  to  the  Conference,  and  Departure  from  Imfinnapolis— 
Railway  to  St.  Louis — Forests  and  Prairies— GiL'aii tie  Sen  <•  of  Ame- 
rican Scenery — Rapid  Glance  at  St.  Louis — Enilmrknu  at  on  the 
Mississippi — Confluence  with  the  Missouri — River  Scenery  Magnifi- 
cent Night  Scene — Importance  of  the  "  Valley  of  the  Mi88i->iiipi  " — 
River  Steamer  and  Company — "  Snags"  and  "  Sawyers"—  ^([uatting 
Wood-Cutters — The  Mi88is8i2)pi  by  Night — Lauding  at  Qui  uy    .     . 


287 


LETTER  XVIII. 

PRAIRIE   LAND,    CHICAGO,   DETROIT,   AND   THE   GREAT    --AKES. 

Departure  from  Quiucy — The  Prairie — Prairie  Fires — Richn "ss  of 
Prairie  Soil — Destruction  of  Cattle  on  American  Railways-  "Off 
the  Line" — General  Tom  Thumb — Neighbourhood  of  Nauxoo — 
Thoughts  on  Murnionism — Its  Future  in  the  Stales — Chiciiw — 
Amazing  Rapidity  of  its  Growth — Meeting  with  Friends — Drive 
round  the  City — Magical  haste  with  which  People  get  Rich  in  Chi- 
cago—Family Party — The  Lady's  Question — Departure  from  Chi- 
cago- Arrival  at  Detroit — Sabbath  spent  there — Account  of  Churrhes 
•«d  Services— Voyage  to  Ruffalo — The  Great  Lakes  of  America — 
Sketch  of  Buffalo  City — Arrival  at  Niagara 306 


t 


i 


XVI 


CONTENTS. 


PAGB 


327 


LETTER  XIX. 

THE   PALLS   OF  NIAGAEA. 

Source  of  the  Falls  from  the  Gn^at  Lakes — The  River  of  Niagara — 
The  Whirlpool— The  Kapids— Goat  Island— The  American  Fall- 
Luna  Island— The  Middle  Fall — The  Canada,  or,  "Horse-shoe" 
Fall — Uttrogressiou  of  the  Falls  according  to  Geologists — View  of 
the  Falls  from  the  Hotel  Balcony — View  of  the  River  Bank — From 
"  I'rospect  Place  " — From  the  IJridge  over  the  Rapids — Landing  on 
Goat  Island  — "Prospect  Tower"— The  "Cave  of  Winds"— The 
Falls  by  Moonlight — Legends  and  Tales  of  Horror  respecting  the 
Falls ~ 

LETTER  XX. 

CANADA. — WESLEYAN   CONFEREXCB   AT  BKOCKVILLE. 

Railway  from  the  Falls  along  the  Line  of  the  Niagara  River — Lake  On- 
tario— Arrival  at  Toronto — Metliodist  Friends — Sabbath  Services  at 
Toronto — Sketch  of  Toronto — Great  Normal  Schools — Dr.  Ryersou 
— Illness  of  Peter  Jones,  or  "  Kahkcwaquonaby,"  the  Methodist  Indian 
Chief — Canadian  Parliament — Mackenzie,  and  Scene  in  the  House  of 
Representatives — Loyal  Attachment  of  Canada  to  England — Lake 
Ontario,  the  "Thousand  Islands,"  and  the  St.  Lawrence — Arrival  at 
Brockville — Proceedings  of  the  Conference — Railways  in  Canada — 
Resources  and  Prosperity  of  the  Country — Arrival  at  Montreal     .     .  349 

LETTER  XXI. 

LAKE    CIIAMPLAIN,    BOSTON,    AND   ALBANY. 

Departure  froni  Montreal— Railway-ticket  Sharpers — Beauty  of  Lake 
Champluin — Town  of  Burlington — Brief  Separation  from  Dr.  Hannah 
—  State  of  INIassachusets — Its  English  Features — Glance  at  its 
History — Boston — Sketch  of  the  City — Wooden  Bridges — State 
House — Chantrey's  Statue  of  Washington — Faneuil  Hall — Ancient 
"Timber  Houses" — Public  Buildings  and  Moimments — Ascendancy 
of  Unitarianisuj — Theodore  Parker — Departure  from  Boston — The 
Infidel  in  the  Railway  Car — Striking  Scenery — Albany — Description 
of  the  City — Chwches  and  Sects — 'Phe  Shakers — Sabbath  in  Albany  865 

LETTER  XXII. 

HUDSON   RIVER,   BROOKLYN,   AND  VOYAGE   HOME. 

Scenery  of  the  Hudson— The  "Crow's  Nest"— Tappan's  Bay— The 
"Palisades" — Hills  of  Hoboken — Refm-n  to  New  York — Visit  to 
Brooklyn — Dr.  Hannah's  Sermon,  and  Farewell  of  Methodist  Friends 
in  New  York — Re  embarkment  onboard  the  J/rtca — Voyage  Home- 
wards— Passengers — Sabbath  Services  on  board — Singing — Laud  in 
Sight — Summary  of  Thoughts  on  America 382 

Appendix.     Report  on  Slavery 396 


-— «.  J.*  »- '^  ♦-i**"^ 


AMERICA, 


AND 


AMERICAIf   METHODISM. 


LETTER  I. 

VOYAGE  OVER  THE  ATLANTIC. 


"Departure  from  Liverpool — Passage  down  the  Mersey  and  into  the  Irish 
Sea — Early  Anxiety  and  Discomfort  of  Voyagers — First  Dinner  "on 
Board" — The  "  Africa"  Steamship  and  its  Accommodations — Sketch  of 
Character  among  Passengers — The  Atlantic — Perilous  Storm — Awful 
Night  Scene — Claims  of  Seamen  for  Remembrance — Sabbath  Service — 
The  Gulf  Stream — Dangerous  Fog — Sudden  transition  into  Smooth  Water 

— New  York  Bay.  

Atlantic  Ocean. 
The  ^^  Africa"  steamship, 

^/)n717— 19, 1856. 

By  the  good  providence  of  God  we  are  now  approach- 
•ing  the  American  shores.  The  sea  is  smoother  than  it 
was  during  the  former  part  of  our  passage ;  and,  as  I 
have  now  more  leisure  than  I  shall  be  likely  to  find 
immediately  after  landing,  I  write  for  you,  on  board, 
a  letter  on  our  voyage  across  the  Atlantic. 

On  separating  from  you  and  the  many  kind  friends 
i  who  accompanied  us  to  the  steamship,  on  the  morning 
I  of  April  5th,  I  felt,  for  a  time,  a  sense  of  desolation 
[such  as  I  never  experienced  before.  I  had  heart-yearn- 
[ings  towards  home  and  Old  England  that  cannot  be 
[escribed.   \  et  I  remembered,  as  the  anchor  was  raised, 

B 


1  \ 


VOYAGE  OVER  THE  ATLANTIC. 


and  the  paddle-wheels  began  to  move,  that  some  of  the 
emigrants  on  deck,  and  some  of  their  friends  on  shore, 
must  be  experiencing  deeper  pangs  of  separation  ;  such 
as  the  Prophet  of  Sorrows  may  be  said  to  describe,  when 
he  says — "  Weep  ye  not  for  the  dead,  neither  bemoan 
him ;  but  weep  sore  for  him  that  goeth  away :  for  he 
shall  return  no  more,  nor  see  his  native  country."  I 
lingered  long  against  the  back  rail  of  the  vessel,  looking 
upon  you  and  our  friends,  until  all  dwindled  to  mere 
cpecks ;  and  at  length  Liverpool  itself  faded  from  my 
view.  Dr.  Hannah,  with  his  own  considerate  and 
fatherly  kindness,  took  my  arm,  drew  me  towards  him 
for  a  walk  on  deck,  and  spoke  most  encouragingly  of 
the  presence  of  God,  both  with  us  and  with  those  we 
had  left  on  land.  This  turned  my  mind  to  the  unfailing 
Source  of  strength  and  consolation;  and  with  prayers 
to  heaven  for  you,  and  for  my  people  in  Bradford,  my 
heart  gradually  disburdened  itself,  so  that  I  could  enter 
into  conversation  on  what  was  before  us  in  our  voyage 
and  mission.  Our  passage  down  the  Mersey  was 
favourable ;  the  sun  shone  brightly  upon  us  ;  a  sharp, 
brisk  breeze  filled  our  sails ;  and,  borne  onwards  both  by 
wind  and  steam,  we  speedily  cut  our  way  out  of  the 
river's  mouth,  and  stood  out  to  sea. 

For  a  time  the  water  was  comparatively  smooth,  and 
most  of  the  passengers  were  seen  walking  to  and  fro 
upon  the  deck ;  but  as  we  increased  our  distance  from 
land  the  water  became  more  and  more  broken,  and  the 
walking  of  passengers  sensibly  diminished.  And  now, 
at  intervals,  the  ship  began  to  lurch,  so  as  to  make  this 
diminished  number  halt  in  their  movements,  and  stagger 
in  all  directions  before  they  could  regain  their  balance. 
Earnest  questions  were  proposed  by  many  to  the  captain 


VOYAGE  OVER  THE  ATLANTIC. 


8 


some  of  the 
Is  on  shore, 
ation;  such 
jcribe,  when 
her  bemoan 
way :  for  he 
jountry."     1 
jssel,  looking 
died  to  mere 
ied  from  my 
isiderate   and 
I  towards  him 
ouragingly  of 
vith  those  we 
the  unfailing 
with  prayers 
(Bradford,  my 
I  could  enter 
in  our  voyage 
Mersey   was 
us ;  a  sharp, 
wards  both  by 
ay  out  of  the 


and   other  officers   concerning    the    prospects   of   the 
weather  and  the  voyage ;    and  as  eager  were  the  in- 
quiries made  by  the  passengers  among  themselves,  as 
to  their  being  "good  sailors."     The  captain  and  his 
men  showed  the  most  considerate  patience  in  answering 
the  same  questions  again  and  again.     Some  of  the  pas- 
sengers shook  their  heads  in  doubt  of  what  would  be 
their  fate  as  to  sea-sickness ;  but  others  expressed  them- 
selves more  confidently,  and  told  how  often  they  had 
been  to  sea  without  suffering  any  discomfort  whatever. 
Soon,  however,  several  of  these  more  confident  sailors 
began  to  lose  the  colour  from  their  cheeks  and  lips, 
and  an  ashy  paleness  spread  itself  over  their  faces ; 
while  cushioned  seats,  carpet-stools,  caps,  and  cloaks 
came  into  great  request.      AYith  the  more  bilious  of 
our  fellow-passengers,  sea-sickness   had  already  com- 
menced ;  and  some  of  them,  hastening  to  their  berths 
below,   disappeared   altogether  from   our  view.      The 
weather  gave  signs  of  change,  hazy  clouds  spread  over- 
head ;  Snowdon  and  the  Welsh  mountains  on  our  left 
were  still  bathed  in  sunshine,  but  the  great  Lancashire 
sand-bank  on  our  right  grew  dark  and  grim,  while  the 
sea  lost  its  translucent  green,  and  partook  largely  of  the 
grey,  leaden  aspect  of  the  sky. 

At  four  o'clock  the  dinner-bell  rang,  when  as  many 
of  us  as  were  able  crowded  into  the  large,  sumptuous 
saloon;  and  we  arranged  ourselves  at  the  two  long 
tables.  Thj  provisions  were  good  and  most  abundant. 
The  company  seemed  eager  for  their  first  meal  on 
board ;  and  many  were  the  observations  we  overheard 
as  to  what  was  safest  and  best  to  be  eaten  and  drunk  at 
Soon,  however,  our  number   at   the   tables  w^as 


,pf 


sea. 


thinned.     As  the  smoking  viands  were  brought  in  by 


4  VOYAGE   OVER  THE  ATLANTIC. 

the  steward  and  his  assistants,  and  placed  before  the 
guests,  one  after  another  of  them  suddenly  clutched  his 
hat,  and  unceremoniously  hurried  away  into  the  open 
air.  Strong,  sturdy-looking  men,  who  had  evidently 
braved  many  a  danger  on  land,  grew  deathly  pale  at 
the  sight  of  a  boiled  fish,  or  a  pair  of  headless  fowls ; 
and  even  stern,  moustachioed  soldiers  fled  at  the  sight 
of  the  boiled  leg  of  a  dead  sheep.  To  me,  who  have 
happily  been  entirely  free  from  sea-sickness  all  the  way, 
it  has  been  somewhat  curious  to  observe  how  several  of 
those  who  sat  down  with  us  at  that  first  day's  meal, 
and  seemed  so  earnest  in  claiming  their  place  at  table, 
have  ever  since  most  scrupulously  shunned  the  saloon 
at  dinner-hour — fleeing  from  it  before  the  very  first 
note  of  the  bell  was  heard.  Some  who  were  with  us  on 
the  deck,  and  in  high  spirits  when  we  started,  have 
confined  themselves  to  their  berths,  from  their  sudden 
disappearance  on  that  first  day  of  our  voyage  until  the 
present,  when  we  are  getting  into  smooth  water  again. 
So  that,  if  one  had  not  seen  them  at  the  beginning,  it 
would  now  be  natural  to  suppose  that,  in  the  last  night, 
we  had  made  an  unknown  call  on.  our  way,  and  had 
received  on  board  a  large  increase  of  company.  But 
no ;  from  the  first  sharp  turn  of  our  paddle-wheels  in 
the  river  Mersey,  at  twelve  o'clock  at  noon  on  Saturday, 
the  5th  of  April,  the  ponderous  engine  has  never  ceased 
its  regular  and  powerful  movement;  and  crowded  as 
the  decks  are  now,  we  have  not  one  more  person  on 
board  than  we  had  at  our  departure.  Happily,  I  can 
add,  that  we  have  not  one  less:  of  the  300  souls  or 
more  that  left  Liverpool  with  us,  all  are  still  living, 
by  the  gracious  providence  of  Almighty  God. 

It  is  to  be  remarked,  that   the  greater  number  of 


VOYAGE   OVER  THE  ATLA^'TIO.  0 

sufferers  from  sea-sickness,  in  a  voyage  like  this  from 
England,  are  foreigners.  One  reason  for  this  is  no 
doubt  to  be  found  in  the  greasy  vegetable  mixtures 
they  take  at  their  meals,  in  the  place  of  more  substan- 
tial food.  And  of  all  pitiable  objects  to  be  seen  any- 
where, most  assuredly  there  is  not  one  more  so  than 
a  sea-sick  foreigner,  huddled  up  in  cap  and  cloak  by  the 
ship's  funnel,  and  expressing  his  bitter  inward  nausea 
by  significant  shrugs  and  grimaces. 

Indeed,  notwithstanding  all  the  fine  things  that  have 
been  written  and  sung  of  the  sea,  I  am  satisfied,  from 
what  I  have  seen  and  learned  in  this  voyage,  that  it  is 
not  a  cradle  for  physical  ease  and  enjoyment.  It  is 
well  for  the  interests  of  merchants  and  travellers  that 
some  men  choose  to  spend  their  lives  chiefly  upon  it. 
It  must  be  the  native  love  of  enterprize,  and,  in  some 
degree,  delight  in  daring  dangers,  which  impel  seamen 
to  their  occupation.  It  cannot  be  the  love  of  gain, 
for  they  are  proverbially  reckless  of  money  generally. 
I  suspect,  however,  that  even  seamen  look  to  tho 
land  for  their  highest  gratification.  Men  usually 
think  of  heaven  under  the  imagery  of  what  is  most 
joyous  to  them  on  earth;  but  I  question  whether 
any  sailor  ever  imagined  his  heavenly  Paradise  to  be 
at  sea.  But  whatever  the  sea  mav  be  to  seamen, 
undoubtedly  it  is  the  scene  of  concentrated  incon- 
veniences to  landsmen;  and  is  not  to  be  resorted  to 
by  them  for  recreation  and  pleasure.  Confined  within 
the  narrow  range  of  the  ship's  decks  by  day,  shut  up  in 
a  closet-dungeon  (miscalled  a  "state-cabin")  by  night, 
and  where  he  has  to  squeeze  himself  within  a  straitened 
coffin-like  berth,  and  to  try  to  sleep  in  an  unventilated 
atmosphere,   while  the  heavy  billows    are  thumping 


\ 


^ 


\  \ 


b  VOYAGE  OVER  THE  ATLANTIC. 

under  bim,  and  heavy  sleepers  are  snoring  around  him, — 
the  sea  certainly  is  not  the  realisation  of  rest  and  free- 
dom, even  for  the  best  accommodated  landsman  voyager. 

All  that  could  possibly  be  done  for  the  relief  and 
accommodation  of  passengers  on  board  the  Africa  has 
really  been  done  for  them.  Our  ship  is  large  and 
good ;  she  is  well-shaped,  tightly-built,  and  clean 
throughout.  Our  day-saloon  is  more  than  comfortable — 
it  is  really  superb  in  its  furniture  and  fittings.  Our 
captain,  whose  name  is  "  Shannon,"  is  an  able,  watchful 
seaman  ;  and  all  the  officers  and  sailors  are  orderly  and 
obliging  in  the  performance  of  their  respective  duties. 

The  passengers,  too,  have  been  sociable  and  well- 
behaved.  There  is  among  them  great  diversity  both 
of  look  and  language.  AYe  have  on  board  natives  of 
nearly  all  parts  of  Europe,  as  well  as  persons  from  dif 
ferent  parts  of  America.  And  yet  we  have  had  no 
disturbance  or  contention,  but  have  every  day  assem- 
bled and  sat  together  in  the  saloon  as  if  we  were  in  a 
peace-congress  of  nations.  The  only  exception  to  this 
amicable  association  has  been  a  renegade  Englishman, 
who,  with  assumed  swagger,  tried  to  pass  himself  oft' 
for  a  native  and  enthusiastic  American ;  but  this  only 
afforded  amusement,  and  produced  no  angry  feeling. 
He  has  boastfully  obtruded  his  opinions  on  the  great 
superiority  of  America  over  all  other  countries  before 
the  company,  until  they  instinctively  combined  to 
retort  upon  him,  and  to  put  him  down ;  but  he 
proved  to  be  a  dextrous  antagonist,  and  able  to  make 
his  way,  in  one  manner  or  another,  out  from  the  most 
closely  encircling  difficulties.  For  instance,  a  patriotic 
Canadian,  contending  for  the  superiority  of  the  Eng- 
glish  over  the  Americans,  observed,  "  The  English  live 


Is 


VOYAGE  OVER  THE  ATLANTIC.  7 

longer."  "  True,"  said  the  other,  "  but  that  does  not 
prove  superiority;  for  the  real  reason  for  the  shorter 
life  of  the  Americans  is,  that  having  seen  and  done  in 
the  world  all  that  can  be  seen  and  done  in  it  sooner, 
they  die  and  leave  it  sooner,  having  the  sooner  fulfilled 
their  mission  in  it."  This  seemed  to  be  the  very 
climax  of  repartee  on  such  a  subject,  and  for  a  time 
the  wordy  strife  was  ended. 

There  are  several  passengers  of  sufficient  mark  on 
board  to  render  them  memorable  with  me  in  after-life. 
There  is  a  dark,  soft,  luscious-eyed  Spaniard  who  is 
going  out  as  consul  to  the  States,  and  who  has  com- 
plained loudly  of  the  fortnight's  misery  of  sea-sickness 
which  he  has  experienced ;  there  is  a  large,  woolly- 
headed  gentleman  who  has  talked  almost  incessantly 
of  what  he  has  seen  and  learned  of  the  relations  of 
England  and  America;  there  is  a  medical  officer  re- 
tired from  the  service  of  the  East  India  Company,  and 
who,  with  his  two  military-looking  sons,  is  proceeding 
to  his  estate  in  Canada  ;  there  is  a  mild,  placid  gentle- 
man who,  with  his  early-fading  wife,  is  returning  from 
a  year's  tour  on  the  continent  of  Europe  and  in  Egypt ; 
there  are  Mr.  Virtue,  the  enterprising  publisher,  and 
his  intelligent  and  agreeable  lady,  who  are  crossing  the 
Atlantic  for  a  three  months'  tour  in  the  western  world; 
there  are  Messrs.  Bctts  and  Brassey,  the  great  railway 
contractors,  going  out  to  superintend  the  completion  of 
the  trunk-line  in  Canada ;  there  is  a  tall,  upright 
Quaker  who,  in  company  with  his  two  sons,  is  on  his 
way  to  attend  a  convention  of  Friends  about  to  be  held 
in  Philadelphia ;  there  are  dark,  sallow-faced  Spa- 
niards, with  ample  finger-rings  and  abundance  of  gold 
and  jewelry,  returning  to  Cuba; — these,  and  others  of 


8 


VOYAGE  OVER  TUE  ATLANTIC. 


mark  and  interest,  have  walked,  conversed,  and  lounged 
together  by  day,  and  in  the  evening  have  grouped 
themselves  together  at  the  tables  according  to  their 
respective  tastes  and  amusements.  But  with  all  their 
great  variety  of  character  and  pursuit,  I  have  not 
heard  or  seen  anything  in  their  conduct  censurable  on 
the  ground  of  morality;  I  have  not  witnessed  any 
excessive  drinking  of  wino  or  spirituous  liquors;  I 
have  not  heard  a  profane  word  spoken ;  and,  with  the 
one  ludicrous  exception  named,  there  has  been  an 
evident  endeavour  to  be  mutually  agreeable. 


But  the  SEA — "  the  many-sounding  sea,"  as  Homer 
long  since  called  it — has  been  the  chief  subject  of  my 
observation  and  thought  since  I  began  this  voyage ; 
and  it  has  alternately  filled  me  with  awe,  with  wonder, 
and  with  delight.  At  the  present  it  is  calm  and  placid 
— the  undisturbed  image  of  tranquillity  and  peace ;  at 
other  times  h  has  been  broken  all  around  into  heav- 
ing, tossing  billows — the  emblems  of  disquietude  ;  and 
anon  I  have  seen  it  rise  up  in  its  stormy  fury,  and 
heave  its  mountain  masses  into  the  air  and  against  the 
ship — as  the  dread  sign  of  unappeasable  and  over- 
whelming wrath.  In  one  part  of  our  voyage  it  would 
be  light  green  in  colour,  in  another  slate  grey,  in  ano- 
ther deep  indigo,  and  in  another,  when  under  heavy 
louring  clouds,  it  would  be  a  raven  black.  But,  under 
every  variety  of  aspect,  and  at  all  times,  the  sea  has  in 
it  a  living,  undecaying  freshness  that  cannot  be  seen 
elsewhere.  It  bears  no  signs  of  age  or  decline :  un- 
like the  mountains,  rocks,  and  valleys  of  earth,  it  is 
unworn,  while  in  its  ceaseless  motion  it  is  a  true 
emblem  of  life  and  immortality. 


VOYAGE  OVER  THE  ATLANTIC. 


9 


Its  vast  extent  of  surface,  its  depth,  and  '^^ mediate 
connection  with  three  of  the  larger  section^  of  the 
earth,  all  combine  to  render  the  Atlantic  Ocean  an 
incentive  to  large  and  stirring  thoughts.  It  stretches 
from  pole  to  pole,  is  from  2000  to  5000  miles  wide, 
and  covers  an  area  of  some  25,000,000  of  square 
miles.  It  is  the  great  highway  of  the  civilised  world ; 
the  ordained  course  of  missionaries  and  evangelists 
for  the  ends  of  the  earth';  and  the  main  outlet  for 
intelligence,  freedom,  and  philanthropy.  It  is,  indeed, 
a  divinely-honoured  sea ;  and  is  not  to  be  crossed  or 
contemplated  without  feelings  of  reverence.  The 
name  given  to  it  by  sailors,  "  the  Great  Pond,"  is 
too  familiar,  and  grates  on  the  sense  of  a  thoughtful 
voyager.  And  oh,  if  this  vast  trough  of  waters  could 
be  suddenly  drained,  what  a  scene  would  be  laid  bare 
to  view !  what  ribs  of  solid  granite,  what  foundations 
of  the  great  deep,  what  treasures,  what  ruined  spoils  of 
death  and  destruction  would  be  discovered  !  It  is  esti- 
mated that  on  an  average  every  eleventh  seaman 
perishes  in  the  water  ;  and  that  on  this  stormy  Atlantic 
there  are  at  least  three  wrecks  per  day.  What  secrets 
to  be  revealed  at  that  great  Easter  of  the  universe, 
when  "  the  sea  shall  give  up  her  dead  !" 

The  huge  swelling  motion  of  this  deep,  wide  ocean 
is  also  very  impressive.  The  short,  chopping  waves  of 
the  Channel  you  and  I  have  crossed  together,  in  our 
visits  to  the  European  continent,  are  mere  playthings 
when  compared  with  the  grand,  giant- waves  of  the 
Atlantic.  Free  from  interruption  by  obtruding  cliffs 
and  headlandd,  it  rolls  its  restraiuless  masses  of  water 
on  all  sides  round  us  with  unimaginable  breadth  and 
grauacur.     {Sometimes,  under  a  grey,  heavy  sky,  it  has 


ut 


i  \ 


10 


VOYAOE  OVER  THE  ATLANTIC. 


a  very  stern  and  desolate  appearance  :  it  is  then  a  very 
"  wilderness  of  waters," — a  grim,  boundless,  watery 
desert.  Sea,  sea,  soa,  and  nothing  but  sea,  appears 
everywhere,  without  any  breaking  light  through  the 
overhanging  clouds  to  relieve  it ;  and  the  countless 
billows  buttle  violently  with  each  other,  and  lift  up 
their  foamy  crests  on  high,  as  if  in  proud,  unchecked 
defiance.  But  as  there  is  interest  in  the  land-desert 
when  viewed  in  its  immensity,  so  there  is  in  the  bound- 
less desert  of  tlie  sea.  We  were  several  days  after  we 
passed  the  south-west  point  of  Ireland  before  we  saw  any 
object  upon  the  water  beyond  our  own  vessel :  no  land, 
no  ship,  no  craft  of  any  kind.  This  engii«.'ling  scene 
of  solitary  grandeur  produced  within  us  strong  emotion. 
We  have  had,  too,  what  I  have  long  desired  to  wit- 
ness, a  "  storm  at  sea."  It  continued  through  several 
days  and  nights,  and  was  fearfully  sublime.  Some  of 
the  passengers  and  sailors  who  had  crossed  the  Atlantic 
several  times  before,  declared  they  had  not  previously 
seen  anything  like  it  in  the  stre?'gth  and  violence  of  its 
fury.  The  heavens  gathered  the  deepest  blackness 
around  us,  until  the  sullen  waters  could  be  heard  more 
than  seen.  The  wind,  for  a  time,  sighed,  and  moaned, 
and  howled,  and  made  ghostly  terrific  noises  among  the 
ropes,  and  blocks,  and  chains  of  the  ship's  tackling, 
and  amidst  the  innumerable  caverns  of  the  broken  deep. 
At  length  the  two  elements  of  wind  and  water  came 
into  raging  contact  with  each  other,  and  then  "  the 
ground  swell  of  the  Atlantic"  was  awful ;  it  seemed  to 
roll  over  the  rugged  floor  of  the  great  ocean  like 
muffled  thunder.  Our  ship,  which  in  the  Mersey 
seemed  so  large  and  stately,  was  tossed  up  and  down, 
and  to  and  fro,  like  a  helpless  sea-shell.     She  seemed 


VOYAOE  OVER  THE  ATLANTIC. 


11 


suddenly  struck  in  a  hundred  places  at  once,  as  if  with 
heavy  buttering- rams  ;  she  literally  shivered  and  trem- 
bled in  every  plunk  and  pin,  until  it  appeared  as  if  she 
must  instantly  break  to  pieces  under  us,  and  leave  us 
to  sink,  as  mere  rain-drops,  into  the  yawning  element. 
Then,  indeed,  was  the  Psalmist's  graphic  description  of 
mariners  in  a  storm  realised  by  us ;  we  mounted  up  to 
the  heavens,  went  down  again  into  the  depths.     Our 
huge  vessel,  with  its  immortal  freight,  "  reeled  to  and 
fro,  and  staggered  like  a  drunken  man."     But  though 
shaken  by  the  contending  and  enraged  elements,  our 
gallant  ship  breasted  every  swelling  wave  ihut  met  her, 
mounted  bravely  its  mountain  height,  plunged  down 
into  the  deep  yawning  gulph  which  followed,  and,  as  if 
throbbing  at  the  very  heart  with  exultation  in  her  con- 
scious strength,  she  heaved  up  and  down  her  engine- 
beam,  and   still  bounded  forwards   in  her  course.     A 
steamship  is  indeed  a  grand  triumph  of  science,  and  I 
have  been  tb inking  of  ours  as  a  thing  possessing  human 
emotion  ;  but  what  a  real  heart  of  unuppalled  courage 
there  must  have  been  in  that  immortal  Genoese  who 
crossed  this  untracked  ocean  in  that  frail  bark,  and  led 
on  his  sailors,  in  spite  of  their  prayers  and  threats, 
until  his  great  thought  and  confidence  were  realised ! 

The  storm  at  night  was  still  more  terrible  than  by 
day ;  I  remained  on  deck,  and  held  by  a  rail,  that  I 
might  view  it  fully.  The  sea  at  times  leaped  in  heavy 
surges  upon  the  ship  at  all  sides ;  then  it  run  along  the 
decks  furiously,  and  roared  with  "  the  voice  of  many 
waters"  as  it  passed  along.  The  wind  screamed  and 
howled  from  above  and  all  around  us  like  ten  thousand 
furies.  Black  masses  of  midnight  darkness  shrouded 
us  in  their  pall,  while  the  ship,  as  a  goaded,  infuriated 


12 


VOYAGE  OVER  THE  ATLANTIC. 


I     I 


r  f 


sea -dragon,  rushed  mudly  onwurds,  and  with  fierce 
bright  lights  glcuming  ut  every  aperture,  seemed  in- 
wardly full  of  fire.  In  such  circumstiinces  it  required 
no  great  power  of  imagination  to  people  the  dark  world 
of  horrors  around  us  with  evil  and  tormenting  spirits. 
If  the  "  prince  of  the  power  of  the  air"  had  not  then 
his  triumph,  the  "storm-king  of  the  Atlantic"  wua 
putting  forth  his  strength.  My  thoughts  went  to  the 
land  where,  in  some  lonely  cottage,  bcliko  the  howling 
of  the  midnight  wind  was  sliaking  the  widow's  heart 
aa  she  lay  sleepless  on  her  bed,  thinking  of  her  prodigal 
son  at  sea,  who — 

"  Tliuugh  tlic  strained  iiinst  ttlinuld  (|uivcr  ns  a  rei-d. 
And  tliu  rent  canvas  Uuttcring  struw  the  gale, 
Still  must  he  ou." 

I  also  pictured,  at  that  midnight  hour,  the  shipwrecked 
mariner  clinging  to  the  floating  fragments  of  his  ruined 
vessel,  and  thinking,  ero  he  sinks  gurgling  down  into 
the  deep,  of  his  desired  homo  and  dear  ones.  And 
perhaps,  thought  I,  some  mother's  only  son — aomo 
home-bound  father  or  returning  husband — is  at  this 
awful  moment  really  in  these  desolate  and  hopeless 
circumstances,  and  is  sending  forth,  amidst  the  fury  of 
the  storm,  his  dying  moan  of  helplessness.  "  If  so,"  I 
prayed,  "  Lord  of  the  earth  and  sea,  hear  thou  his 
solitary  cry,  and  send  him  help  from  above." 

Indeed,  my  sympathy  with  seamen  has  greatly 
strengthened  in  this  voyage.  The  bold,  self-forgetful 
conduct  of  our  sailors  on  board  in  the  time  of  perilous 
storm,  and  their  outspoken  frankness  on  all  occasions, 
have  fully  won  me  to  them  and  to  their  class.  If  I  am 
spared  to  return  to  my  ministerial  duties,  I  hope  to 
lead   my  congregations   to  pray    lor   them   more  fro* 


.  I 


VOYAUE  OVER  THE  ATL^VNTIC. 


13 


fierce 
d  iu- 
uired 
world 
pirits. 
b  then 
"  wua 
to  the 
)wUng 
heart 
•odigal 


recked 
ruined 
n  into 
And 
some 
|ut  tliis 
ppeless 
ury  of 

80,"  I 

ou  his 


greatly 
[•getful 

lerilous 

lasions, 
I  am 

|ope  to 
re  fro- 


quently,  and  to  remember  in  public  prayers  more  cou- 
Btantly,  *•  all  that  do  business  in  great  waters."  This 
duty  to  those  who  are  far  off  upon  the  sea  is,  I  fear,  too 
much  neglected  by  those  who  are  upon  land. 

Dr.  Hannah  and  I  were  greatly  interested  in  the 
Sabbath  service  wo  have  had  on  board.  It  was  held  in 
the  large  saloon,  and  was  attended  by  most  of  the 
sailors,  who  were  dressed  in  their  best  Sunday  blue, 
and  by  nearly  all  the  passengers  from  both  ends  of  the 
vessel.  The  captain  read  tlio  Tiiturgy  in  his  rough, 
husky  voice,  with  artless  RimpHcity,  and  the  officers, 
the  men,  and  the  passengers,  responded  in  a  devout 
and  earnest  manner.  The  "  Prayer  at  Sea"  was  very 
affecting,  and  seemed  to  bo  felt  by  many.  At  the  con- 
clusion of  the  "prayers"  I  expounded  the  23rd  Psulin 
to  the  attentive  congregation :  and  I  was  truly  thank- 
ful to  find  so  mingled  a  company  thus  ready  to  improve 
the  Lord's-day  by  acts  of  public  worship.  This  service 
gave  me  an  introduction  to  almost  all  tho  passengers, 
and  since  then  I  have  had  no  inconsiderable  portion  of 
my  time  occupied  with  the  imparting  of  instruction 
and  comfort  to  the  spiritually  ignorant,  the  sorrowful, 
and  afflicted - 

I  have  had  also  many  pleasant  and  profitable  hours 
in  conversation  and  reading  with  Dr.  JIannah.  We 
together  occupy  one  cabin,  as  you  know ;  and  this  is 
favourable  to  us  in  our  seasons  of  religious  retirement, 
as  well  as  in  other  respects.  I  find  the  doctor  a  most 
congenial  and  instructive  companion  at  all  times, 
whether  in  the  large  saloon,  on  the  open  deck,  or  shut 
up  within  our  narrow  cabin.  In  addition  to  his  en- 
gaging gentleness  and  goodness,  he  has  a  mind  which 
is  ever  awake  to  the  varying  aspects  of  creation ;  and 


^ais 


/ 


11. 


VOYAGE  OVER  THE  ATLANTIC. 


r 


'i  I 

,1 


his  aptness  at  appropriate  quotation,  both  from  poetry 
and  prose,  is  remarkable.  It  is  impossible  to  be  with 
him  in  close  intercourse  and  not  to  love  him. 

This  voyage  has  been  to  me,  in  the  variety  of  its 
scenes  and  circumstances,  anything  but  monotonous. 
The  least  incident  at  sea  excites  interest :  a  passing  sail, 
a  floating  log,  a  stray  bird — whether  on  the  wing,  or 
resting  buoyantly  on  the  water — will  assemble  all  the 
passengers  on  deck  and  engage  them  in  earnest  obser- 
vation. One  day  a  poor  little  bird  was  attracted  by 
the  warmth  of  our  engine  chimney,  and  fell  down 
within  it ;  and  this  incident  was  the  subject  of  conver- 
sation with  many,  and  that  for  days  afterwards.  This 
was  pleasing,  for  tenderness  towards  such  creatures  is 
surely  a  proof  of  kindliness  of  disposition.  The  noon- 
day observations  by  the  quadrant,  and  the  admeasure- 
ment of  our  rate  of  travel  by  the  knotted  sounding-line 
let  out  at  the  ship's  stern,  have  usually  gathered  many 
observers  around  the  officers,  and  fu  ^nished  subjects 
for  conversation.  Some  of  the  passengers  altered  their 
watches  each  day  from  starting,  at  twelve  o'clock, 
putting  them  backwards.  By  this  time  we  are  a  good 
part  of  five  hours  behind  you  in  England ;  and  when 
we  go  to  rest  at  night,  it  is  almost  time  for  you  to  be 
getting  up  in  the  morning.  This  circumstance  must 
be  borne  in  mind,  if  at  any  period  we  would  realise  in 
thought  the  probable  occupations  and  circumstances  of 
each  other. 

When  within  a  few  hundred  miles  of  the  American ' 
coast,  we  became  suddenly  enveloped  in  a  dense  fog, 
which  produced  upon  us,  for  the  time,  the  effect  of 
partial  blindness.     "We  could  not  see  even  the  sides  of 
our  ship ;  and  it  seemed  almost  as  if  old  Chaos  were 


VOYAGE  OVER  THE  ATLANTIC. 


15 


returning,  and  had  begun  again  to  brood  on  the  face  of 
the  deep.  This  thick  fog  is  produced  by  the  cold  air  of 
the  frozen  regions  in  the  north  rushing  down  towards 
the  south,  and  coming  into  contact  with  the  warm  air 
and  vapour  from  the  "  Gulf  Stream ;"  very  much  after 
the  manner  in  which  the  blinding  mist  is  produced  in  a 
wash-house  or  scullery,  when  the  hot  vapour  and  cold 
air  come  into  contact  with  each  other.  The  Gulf 
Stream  is,  in  fact,  a  river  of  warm  water,  300  miles 
broad,  flowing  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  in  a  swift 
current,  past  the  banks  of  Newfoundland  (where  it 
produces  fogs  which  last  for  weeks  together),  and  then 
across  the  Atlantic  to  Europe.  It  does  not  mix  wv;h 
the  cold  water  in  its  passage,  but  runs  side  by  side  with 
it  on  either  hand,  dividing  the  sea  and  its  inhabitants. 
The  northern  whales  never  pass  through  it  to  the  south, 
and  the  sperm  whales  never  cross  it  for  the  Arctic 
regions.  It  is  this  Gulf  Stream  which  brings  so  much 
damp  and  vapour  to  England,  and  which  gives  to  it,  to 
the  island  of  Madeira,  and  to  Western  Europe,  their 
mild,  moist,  genial  atmospheres.  Liverpool,  the  port 
from  which  we  sailed,  and  which  is  always  open,  is 
farther  north  than  the  harbour  of  St.  John's,  in  New- 
foundland, which  is  mostly  closed  with  ice  in  the  month 
of  June ;  and  it  is  this  hot  Gulf  Stream,  from  America 
across  the  wide  Atlantic  to  our  shores,  which  makes  tlie 
difference.  This,  too,  determines  the  course  of  navi- 
gation over  the  Atlantic,  especially  on  the  voyage  from 
America  to  England  :  skilful  navigators  take  advantage 
of  it,  and  steer  their  vessels  in  its  swift-running  waters  ; 
so  that,  in  returning  home,  we  expect  to  be,  with  this 
advantage,  several  days  less  in  crossing  the  Atlantic 
than  we  have  been  in  coming  over  it  this  way.     The 


li« 


h 


/ 


16 


VOYAGE  OVER  THE  ATLANTIC. 


sailors  call  sailing  in  the  Gulf  Stream  "  running  down 
hill."  They  also  call  the  stream  itself  "the  weather- 
breeder,"  for  it  has  much  to  do  with  the  kind  of  weather 
found  upon  and  near  it.  At  times,  most  furious  gales 
of  wind  sweep  onward  with  its  current;  and  when 
crossed  by  the  cold  wind  from  Labrador,  it  engenders 
thick  and  almost  suffocating  fog,  such  as  we  had  in  our 
course  for  several  days. 

This  fog  produced  a  most  remarkable  change  in  the 
looks  and  spirits  of  the  passengers.  From  being  cheer- 
ful and  buoyant,  some  became  gloomy  and  morose. 
There  were  also  strong  apprehensions  of  danger  with 
many,  from  floating  icebergs,  from  collision  with  other 
vessels,  and  from  sand-banks  but  thinly  covered  with 
water.  And  the  recent  loss  of  the  Pacific  steam- 
ship, supposed  to  have  struck  against  an  iceberg,  was 
frequently  named.  On  these  accounts  we  had  soundings 
taken  and  called  out  for  hours  together ;  and  we  had 
by  day  and  night,  about  every  five  minutes,  the  horrid 
screeching  of  a  sort  of  cow-horn  sound,  made  by  the 
steam,  to  warn  off  ships  that  might  be  in  our  course. 
After  being  for  some  four  days  and  nights  enveloped  in 
this  cold  thick  fog,  we  suddenly  emerged  into  a  clearer 
and  warmer  atmosphere,  beholding  again,  to  our  relief 
and  comfort,  both  the  sun  and  the  sea.  Ind,  last  even- 
ing, after  the  American  pilot  came  on  board  from  his 
yacht,  and  scattered  the  latest  newspapers  broadcast 
among  the  eager  passengers,  a  most  brilliant  and  Claude- 
like effect  of  the  setting  sun  upon  the  rippled  sea  was 
beheld.  A  ship  in  full  sail  passed  between  us  and  the 
descending  luminary,  and  seemed  almost  transparent 
in  the  warm  sunshine  in  which  it  glided  along.  The 
sky  became  easternly  gorgeous  in  its  colours.    Gold  and 


i\ 


VOYAGE  OVER  THE  ATLANTIC. 


17 


in  the 
cheer- 
norose. 
>r  with 
1  other 
jd  with 
steam- 
srg,  was 
andings 
we  had 
horrid 
by  the 
course, 
loped  in 
clearer 
ur  relief 
tst  even- 
;rom  his 
►roadcast 
Claude- 
sea  was 
and  the 
nsparent 
g.    The 
old  and 


crimson-barred  clouds  floated  across  it ;  and  when  the 
sun  sank  beneath  the  ocean,  throwing  his  last  blood-red 
beams  athwart  the  rising  and  falling  billows,  the  scene 
was  magnificent. 

But  of  all  tranquil  scenes  ever  beheld,  none  could 
surpass  that  presented  to  us  this  day.  The  sea  was 
indeed  "  a  sea  of  glass,"  and  was  literally  "  as  clear  as 
crystal."  Not  a  ripple  appeared  on  its  glancing  surface, 
and  it  was  most  radiant  under  the  flood  of  bright  light 
which  beamed  upon  it  from  the  sun.  The  reflections  of 
objects  upon  it  were  complete,  both  in  form  and  colour. 
We  had  Long  Island  on  the  right,  stretchi.  q;  its  narrow 
strip  of  sea-beach  onwards,  farther  than  the  eye  could 
reach,  but  with  its  lighthouses  in  front  and  fully  in 
view ;  on  our  left  was  Sandy  Hook,  a  barren  piece  of 
land;  all  around  us  were  vessels  of  diflerent  kinds, 
with  their  white  sails  spread,  and  all  making  for  one 
point  called  "  the  Narrows,"  through  which  ships  enter 
into  the  harbour  of  New  York ; — these  were  all  reflected 
clearly,  and  at  full  length,  in  the  polished  mirror  of  the 
sea.  We  have  since  entered  into  the  bay,  and  have  on 
our  left  Staten  Island,  sprinkled  all  over  its  wooded 
slopes  with  villas  and  summer  residences.  We  have 
Brooklyn  in  view  on  our  right ;  the  city  of  New  Jersey, 
and  the  thicket  of  New  York  bhipping  before  us ;  while, 
at  different  points  of  our  entrance,  and  on  small  islands 
which  dot  the  bay,  are  the  signs  of  defensive  forti- 
fications. The  bay  itself  opens  and  expands  most  mag- 
nificently. Nothing  finer  of  its  kind  could  possibly  be 
conceived.  It  is  twenty- five  miles  in  sweep,  and  appears 
ready  to  receive  within  its  vast  embrace  all  the  fleets  of 
the  world.  Huge,  high-built  steamboats,  with  grass- 
hopper-like limbs,  are  plying  from  point  to  point ;  and 

-'^      ■      ■  -  0 


r 


\\ 


!H 


18 


VOYAGE  OVER  THE  ATLANTIC. 


some  are  passing  us,  towards  the  Narrows,  for  Halifax 
and  Boston.  The  Cunard  Pier  is  now  immediately 
before  us,  with  American  friends  upon  it,  already  recog- 
nising us  as  the  Methodist  ministers  sent  from  England 
to  visit  them  ;  and  they  are  waving  their  hats  in  token 
of  their  readiness  to  welcome  us  to  their  native  shores. 
So  that,  though  I  cannot  write  any  more  at  present, 
you  rasiy  confidently  conclude,  when  reading  this,  that 
we  are  safely  landed  on  the  continent  of  America. 


LETTER     II. 


NEW  YORK. 


Fair  way  of  judging  of  an  American  City  and  of  American  Manners — 
General  Sketch  of  New  York — Broadway — Monster  Hotels — American 
Ladies — Mixed  Popidation — Tone  of  Equality — Unforeign  feeling  of  an 
Englishman  when  he  lands  in  America — Evening  Party — Newspapers, 
Arts,  Institutions,  Churches,  &c.,  in  New  York — Methodism — Novel  Pulpit 
— Sabbath  Services— Rise  of  Methodism  in  New  York. 


"We  are  now  in  the  city  of  New  York,  the  great  empo- 
rium and  metropolis  of  America,  and  you  will  naturally 
desire  to  know  what  are  my  impressions  of  it.  Viewed 
in  relation  to  the  brief  period  of  its  existence,  it  is  un- 
doubtedly a  most  astonishing  city.  It  has  not,  as  every 
one  knows,  the  imposing  grandeur  and  attractive  features 
of  the  old  cities  of  Europe.  It  has  no  mass'v^e  time- 
staiaed  castles,  palaces,  and  cathedrals,  which  fill  our 
minds  with  the  associations  of  stirring  and  stately  scenes 
and  transactions  of  past  ages.  But  when  one  considers 
that  three  centuries  ago  the  ground  on  which  it  stands 
was  covered  with  a  dense  forest,  which  sheltered  wild 
animals  and  a  few  red-skinned  savages,  and  that  now, 
among  the  great  cities  of  the  world,  it  is  second  only  to 
London  in  the  extent  of  its  commerce,  New  York,  which 
at  the  census  of  1850  contained  as  many  as  629,810 
inhabitants,  must  be  reckoned  as  unrivalled  in  its  rapid 


20 


NEW   YORK. 


II 


growth  and  progress.  It  is  in  this  light  only,  I  conceive, 
that  America  and  its  numerous  towns  and  cities  can  he 
fairly  viewed,  not  in  comparison  with  ancient  countries 
and  capitals,  which  have  had  the  advantage  of  cultivation 
and  growth  through  many  centuries,  but  in  relation  only 
to  the  period  for  which  the  land  has  been  possessed  by  a 
civilised  community.  Of  course  I  am  not  yet  sufficiently 
acquainted  with  America,  or  with  the  manners  of  its 
people,  to  pronounce  a  decided  judgment  upon  them  ; 
but,  from  what  I  have  already  seen,  I  have  no  hesitation 
in  saying  that,  for  want  of  this  consideration,  many  of 
the  disparaging  remarks  and  observations  have  been 
made  by  English  travellers  which  have  so  greatly 
wounded  and  irritated  the  Americans.  Many  of  such 
travellers  have  lived  in  very  different  scenes.  Some  of 
them  may  have  been  softly  and  luxuriously  brought  up 
in  ancient  cities ;  while  others  have  been  nurtured  amid 
highly-cultivated  rustic  landscapes.  All  have  seen, 
more  or  less,  their  own  fruitful  country  of  hill  and  dale 
inclosed,  partitioned,  and  smoothed  by  plough  and 
harrow.  They  have  seen  it  crowded,  in  almost  every 
nook  and  corner,  with  the  signs  of  elegant  thrift  mingled 
with  the  weather-beaten  memorials  of  past  ages ;  they 
have  beheld  the  baronial  mansion  frowning  with  em- 
battled parapet  over  surrounding  moat,  the  squire's  seat 
peeping  through  the  long-drawn  avenue  of  elms  or 
beeches,  the  merchant's  country  house  resting  on  closely- 
cropped  lawn,  and,  sometimes,  the  labourer's  cottage  half 
smothered  in  roses  and  honeysuckles ;  they  have  been 
accustomed  to  receive,  from  their  very  childhood,  it  may 
be,  the  most  respectful,  if  not  obsequious,  attentions  in 
the  presence  of  servants  and  dependents  :  and  so  when 
they  come  to  this  newly-discoverei  continent,  and  aee 


k 


NEW   YORK. 


21 


its  fragmentary  clearings,  its  snake-fenced  plots  of  land, 
its  unfinished  town  a  and  cities,  and  meet  its  somewhat 
rough,  unpolished,  and  unceremonious  people,  these 
English  travellers  pour  forth  their  censures  and  com- 
plaints most  unsparingly.  Such  conduct  is  manifestly 
unjustifiable,  and  may  well  prove  vexatious  to  those 
who  are  thus  dealt  with  by  foreigners.  There  is  nothing 
which  may  not  be  made  to  appear  deformed  or  ridicu- 
lous if  it  be  viewed  through  a  distorting  medium  or 
from  a  morally  oblique  angle.  If  caricature,  and  not 
true  portrait,  be  the  object  sought,  it  is  not  necessary  to 
cross  the  wide  Atlantic  to  find  it.  John  Bull  and  his 
corn-fields  will  serve  as  well  for  that  purpose  as  Brother 
Jonathan  and  his  forests  and  clearings;  and  for  any 
Englishman  to  carry  with  him  over  the  seas  the  pattern 
of  his  own  little  "  angle-land,"  and  try  to  make  it  fit 
upon  a  continent  which  is  equal  in  extent  to  all  Europe, 
and,  if  he  fails,  grow  scornful  and  angrj'^,  savours 
somewhat  of  the  pettishness  of  a  spoilt  child.  Countries 
and  their  inhabitants,  like  other  things,  ought  to  be 
A'iewed  in  their  own  relations.  I  shall  endeavour  to 
remember  this  while  travelling  here ;  and  though,  in 
my  letters  home,  I  may  not  unfrequently  make  com- 
parisons between  what  is  found  on  this  side  of  the 
water  and  what  we  are  familiar  with  hi  our  own 
beloved  country,  it  will  not  be  with  the  purpose  of  dis- 
paraging America  or  glorifying  England,  but  simply 
with  the  aim  of  making  myself  more  readily  under- 
stood. 

Viewed  thus  apart  from  prejudice  and  European  asso- 
ciations. New  York  is,  as  I  have  already  said,  a  most 
wonderful  city.  It  is  situated  at  the  southern  point  of  a 
tongue-like  island,  and  has  as  fine  a  site  both  for  foreign 


i 

, 

i 

, 

1 

! 

■1 

1 

l1 

1^ 

22 


NEW   YORK. 


commorce  and  internal  trade,  and  for  drainage  and 
healthy  ventilation,  as  can  possibly  be  desired.  With 
the  large  outspreading  harbour  (which  I  noticed  in  my 
first  letter)  on  the  east,  and  on  the  west  the  majestic 
river  Hudson,  extending  some  170  miles  up  into  the 
interior  of  the  country,  and  with  the  land  on  which  the 
city  is  built  sloping  gradually  down  from  the  centre  to 
the  water  on  all  sides,  a  more  advantageous  position  for 
trade,  health,  and  prospect,  could  not  be  found.  It  is 
related  of  the  aboriginal  Indians,  that  when  first  dis- 
covered by  the  enterprisiiig  Dutch  navigator,  they 
showed  themselves  most  unwilling  to  part  with  this 
piece  of  land  at  any  price ;  and  this  well  might  be, 
when  its  beauty  of  situation  and  multiplied  facilities  are 
considered. 

The  general  plan  of  the  city  is  regular,  but  chiefly  so 
in  the  newest  parts  northwards.  The  main  streets, 
running  south  and  north,  are  called  "Avenues,"  and 
are  some  ten  or  eleven  in  number.  Between  these  there 
are  narrower  streets ;  and  at  right  angles  with  these 
there  are  "  Cross  Streets,"  which  are  distinguished  as 
"First  Street,"  "Second  Street,"  "Third  Street,"  and 
so  on  to  the  extent  of  some  hundreds.  The  squares  of 
building  between  the  avenues  and  principal  cross  streets 
are  named  "Blocks"  by  the  inhabitants;  so  that  in 
giving  directions  for  a  certain  residence  they  would  say, 
"It  is  in  such  a  Block,  between  the  Fourth  Avenue 
(say)  and  Fifteenth  Street."  This  arrangement  is 
very  serviceable  to  a  stranger  seeking  any  house  in 
the  city.  The  older  streets  at  the  south  end  of 
New  York  still  bear  the  names  originally  given  to 
them. 

The  public  buildings  do  not  seem  large,  nor  are  they 


KEW   YORK. 


23 


attractive  to  a  European  visitor.  The  City  Hull,  the 
Custom-housey  and  the  Merchants'  Exchange,  are  among 
the  principal  buildings  shown  to  strangers ;  but  though 
built  of  granite  ^.i^u.  marble,  and  after  good  Grecian 
models,  yet,  to  English  oyes,  they  are  not  very  impres- 
sive. The  most  interesting  structures  are  some  modern 
Gothic  churches,  which  are  built  of  brown  freestone, 
and  in  good  style.  They  are,  in  form,  very  much  Hire 
some  of  the  larger  parish  churches  in  old  Lincolnshire. 
"  Trinity  Church,"  at  the  lower  end  of  Broadway,  is, 
perhaps,  the  best  example  to  be  named.  It  is  a  large 
church  in  the  decorated  style  of  Gothic  architecture, 
has  a  lofty  spire,  ornamented  with  crockets  and  finial, 
and  the  whole  edifice  is  consistent  throughout.  From 
the  parapet  of  the  tower  of  this  church  the  most  com- 
prehensive view  of  the  city  and  its  suburbs  may  be 
taken.  There  are  no  parks  or  open  squares  of  any 
great  extent.  The  largest  park  is  the  triangular 
one  surrounding  the  City  Hall.  This,  however,  does 
not  contain  more  than  a  few  acres  of  ground,  and 
is  nob  large  enough  for  a  place  of  general  resort  or 
promenade. 

But  pleasure- taking  is  far  from  being  a  characteristic 
habit  with  the  dwellers  in  this  capital  city.  Business, 
"push,"  "drive-along,"  are  their  prevailing  habits. 
'•  Go  a-head ! "  seems  really  to  be  the  motto  of  all  who 
throng  its  numerous  streets  and  thoroughfares — espe- 
cially of  such  as  crowd  its  principal  highways.  The 
men  on  the  pavement  are  gexierally  sallow-com- 
plexioned,  tall,  and  thin ;  and  they  rush  along  with 
serious  countenance  and  earnest  look,  as  if  they  were  all 
pursuing  objects  important  as  life  and  death.  You 
might  as  easily  stand  still,  or  step  slowly,  and  expect 


24 


NEW   YORK. 


in 


nobody  to  elbow  you  into  clanger  in  the  middle  of 
Cheapside  in  London,  as  pause  comfortably  on  the 
pavement  of  a  real  business  street  in  New  York.  To 
look  upon  the  faces  of  many  in  such  a  street,  you  would 
think  that  the  most  weighty  matters  imaginable  were 
pressing  upon  their  minds,  and  that  they  were  rushing 
forth  with  the  goading  apprehension  of  being  too  late 
to  gain  their  wishes.  The  draymen  and  omnibus-drivers 
in  the  middle  of  the  streets  rattle  along  with  their  heavy 
lumbering  vehicles,  until  the  din  and  tumult  are,  to  a 
stranger,  painfully  distracting.  In  several  of  the  long 
"  avenues"  and  cross  streets  there  are  huge  railway  cars, 
drawn  by  horses,  and  which  stop  at  certain  points  to 
take  up  and  let  down  passengers.  These,  though  very 
convenient  for  travelling  in  from  one  end  of  the  city  to 
the  other,  do  not  lessen  the  general  confusion^  or  increase 
one's  sense  of  security. 

The  most  noted  thoroughfare  is  "  Broadway."  This 
great  avenue  is  80  feet  wide,  and  is  two  miles  long,  run- 
ning north  and  south,  and  combines,  in  its  character.  Re- 
gent Street,  Oxford  Street,  and  the  Strand  of  London.  It 
is  not,  however,  so  spacious  or  stately  as  the  first  of  these, 
and  is  much  more  irregular  in  the  style  of  its  buildings. 
It  consists  chiefly  of  warehouses  and  "  stores,"  as  shops 
are  called  in  America ;  but  these  are  of  such  different 
styles  and  forms  as  to  lack  the  appearance  of  combined 
strength  and  beauty.  Some  of  them  are  good  buildings 
in  marble  and  freestone,  and  are  richly  ornamented ; 
while  others,  adjoining  and  between  these  finer  piles,  are 
of  red  brick,  or  of  gaudily-painted  wood,  and  are  covered 
from  top  to  bottom  with  glaring  signboards  and  inscrip- 
tions. This  breaks  the  unity  of  the  view,  and  disturbs 
the  eye  of  the  spectator. 


NEW   YORK. 


25 


Tho  hotels  are  the  largest  and  best  buildings,  even 
in  Broadway ;  they  are,  in  fact,  monsters  of  their  class. 
The  oldest  of  these  is  "  the  Astor  House,"  which  over- 
looks the  southern  end  of  the  City-Hall  Park.  It  is 
built  in  massive  Grecian  style,  is  more  than  200  feet 
long,  has  five  stories  in  height,  and  makes  up  as  many 
as  600  beds.  "  The  St.  Nicholas,"  higher  up  Broadway, 
is  vaster  still ;  it  is  faced  with  pure  white  marble.  But 
the  most  gigantic  of  all  is  "  the  Metropolitan."  This 
hotel  is  as  much  as  278  feet  long,  and  is  said  to  make 
up  1000  beds.  There  are  also  some  large  and  superb 
restaurants  and  eatinsr-houses.  One  of  these  has  a 
saloon,  containing,  in  its  area,  not  less  than  7500  square 
feet. 

The  ladies  make  Broadway  their  chief  place  of  pro- 
menade; and  from  twelve  at  noon  to  two,  it  usually 
presents,  by  their  appearance,  an  animated  and  brilliant 
scone,  though,  from  the  absence  of  accompanying  gen- 
tlemen, attendant  livery-servants,  and  richly-adorned 
equipages,  it  is  not  equal  in  general  effect  to  our  own 
Regent  Street.  The  women  here  are  mostly  of  lower  sta- 
ture than  the  women  of  England,  but  they  are  classically 
formed,  have  complexions  as  white  and  clear  as  alabaster, 
and  well-proportioned  features.  They  walk  naturally, 
and  neither  "paddle"  like  the  Frenchwomen,  nor 
"step  out"  with  grenadier  stride  like  an  English  high- 
born dame,  but  glide  easily  along  with  a  gentle  and 
naiural  step,  which  pleasingly  contrasts  with  the  fierce 
haste  and  bustle  of  the  men  who  pass  by  them.  Their 
dresses  are  rich  and  showy.  Crimson  silk  shawls  on 
blue  and  yellow  gown,  and  gaily-trimmed  bonnets, 
with  waving  feathers,  are  very  common  in  Broadway 
at  noon. 


96 


NEW    YOIIK. 


The  men  are  not  so  pood-looking.  Many  of  them  are 
well-dressed  in  superfine  black  or  blue  cloth,  adorned 
with  large  gilded  buttons ;  and  some  of  the  more 
fashionable  wear  large  full  cloaks,  richly  trimmed  with 
broad  velvet  and  long  silk  tassels.  Hut  there  is  not 
unfrequently  a  haggard,  careworn  look  in  tho  face,  and 
a  dark  sallow  hue,  unrelieved  by  the  least  tinge  of 
colour,  while  the  gait  is  restless  and  impulsive.  Great 
vigour  of  character  is  seen  in  all  their  looks  and  move- 
ments ;  but  nothing  like  the  rosy-faced  portly  English 
gentleman  is  to  be  seen  in  the  streets  of  New  York : 
indeed,  the  absence  of  a  true  English  complexion  is  as 
notable  among  the  women  as  the  men. 

Tlie  variety  to  be  seen  in  the  streets  of  this  city  sur- 
passes anything  I  have  seen  elsewhere.  There  are 
wealthy  capitalists,  merchants,  and  visitors  from  diffe- 
rent countries,  and  adventurers  from  every  state  of  the 
Union.  There  are  cautious,  grave-looking  New-Eng- 
landers,  luxurious  Southerners,  enterprising  Westerners, 
sunburnt  men  from  Oregon  and  California,  some  of 
whom  appear  in  their  unshaven  and  roughly-clad  con- 
dition, as  if  they  were  but  half-civilised,  and  yet  all  rush 
along  the  crowded  streets  with  the  evident  feeling  that 
New  York  is  the  capital  of  their  respective  States — and 
they  are  proud  of  it.  The  Germans,  Swedes,  Irish,  and 
coloured  people,  who  perform  the  greater  part  of  the 
manual  labour  and  drudgery  of  the  city,  reside  in  back 
streets ;  while  the  sailors  of  all  nations,  as  in  our  Wap- 
ping,  crowd  the  great  thoroughfares  near  the  water. 
There  are  dens  of  crime  and  haunts  of  depravity  behind 
the  screens  of  larger  houses  here,  as  there  are  in  Liver- 
pool and  London,  but  there  is  no  public  indication  of 
squalid  poverty  or  pauperism.     I  have  not  j'^et  seen  a 


NEW    YOIIK. 


27 


m  arc 
lomed 

more 
1  with 
is  not 
se,  and 
npe  of 

Great 

move- 
jlnglish 

York : 
n  is  as 

ity  8ur- 
ere   are 
n  diffe- 
B  of  the 
w-Eng- 
iterners, 
some   of 
ad  con- 
all  rush 
ing  that 
es — and 
'ish,  and 
of  the 
in  back 
ur  Wap- 
,e  water, 
y  behind 
n  Liver- 
cation  of 
it  seen  a 


•t 


beggar  in  any  of  the  streets.  It  is  well  known  tluit 
want  need  not  bo  felt  by  any  one  who  is  willing  to  work, 
and  therefore  begging  is  not  encouraged.  The  districts 
inhabited  by  the  poorest  Irish  are,  as  is  usual  in  our 
own  land,  filthy  and  wretched  enough,  as  are  also  some 
parts  occupied  by  other  foreigners  and  by  sailors ;  but 
there  are  no  cripples  exposing  their  withered  limbs  to 
excite  compassion,  and  no  sweepers  at  the  crossings 
holding  out  their  tattered  hats  for  "your  honour's" 
pence,  as  there  are  in  London.  The  coach-drivers,  as  a 
class,  I  should  say,  are  superior  to  our  cabmen,  and  so 
are  their  coaches  superior  to  our  cabs,  being  larger,  and 
better  lined  and  trimmed,  but  you  have  to  pay  propor- 
tionably  more  for  their  use.  A  dollar  is  little  for  coach 
hire  here ;  and  when  you  pay  your  fare  at  the  end  of  a 
drive,  however  liberal  you  may  be,  there  is  no  tip  of  the 
hat,  and  no  **  Thank  you,  sir  I "  but,  as  in  the  **  stores," 
when  you  make  your  purchases,  the  most  peifect  indif- 
ference appears.  In  this,  as  in  other  things,  an  Eng- 
lishman finds  he  is  in  a  republican  land,  where  all  men 
are  declared  to  be  equal. 

And  yet,  with  all  these  American  peculiarities,  the 
first  great  wonder  to  an  English  visitor  who  has  travelled 
in  other  foreign  parts  is,  that  what  he  sees  is  so  sub- 
stantially Knglish ;  it  is  more  so  even  tlian  in  Ireland 
or  Scotland.  At  least,  I  may  say  this  is  my  own 
impression.  On  landing  at  Calais,  Boulogne,  or  Os- 
tend,  and  when  advancing  into  the  interior  of  France, 
Rhenish  Prussia,  Belgium,  or  HoUinid,  which  are  com- 
paratively near  to  our  own  country,  '  he  looks,  language, 
dress,  and  manners  of  the  people  are  so  different  and 
strange,  that  an  English  traveller  at  once  sees  and  feels 
that  he  is  on  foreign  ground;    but   it   is   not  so  on 


38 


NEW  YORK. 


T     I 


•      i 


landing  in  America.  Though  more  than  3000  miles 
from  home,  yet  he  finds  himself  surrounded  by  men  and 
women  with  English  features,  similarly  dressed,  and 
speaking  the  language  with  which  he  has  been  familiar 
from  childhood.  There  are  the  American  character- 
istics which  I  have  described,  and  there  is  a  sort  of 
sing-song,  nasal  c'rawl,  in  the  utterance  of  some,  which 
is  much  inferior  to  the  full,  hearty  tones  of  the  voice  of 
an  Englishman  ;  but  the  great  characteristics  of  feature, 
dress,  and  manners  are  unmistakeably  the  same,  so  that 
an  Englishman  says  as  soon  as  he  enters  American 
society,  "  "We  are  all  brethren  :  such  as  I  am,  these  are : 
they  are  but  Englishmen  living  on  another  side  of  the 
Atlantic." 

"We  have  seen  much  of  private  and  social  life  in 
this  city.  I  am  entertained  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Osbon, 
of  Mulberry  Street ;  and  Dr.  Hannah  by  Balph  Mead, 
Esq.,  of  the  Second  Avenue,  not  far  from  me  ;  and  we 
have  both  received  the  most  kind  and  hospitable  atten- 
tion. We  have  also  passed  some  very  pleasant  hours 
in  evening  parties,  to  which  we  have  been  invited.  In 
one  of  them  we  met  Dr.  Bangs,  the  historian  of  Ame- 
rican Methodism  ;  Bishop  Baker,  just  returned  from  his 
visit  to  the  churches  of  California ;  Dr.  Kidder,  editor 
of  the  Sunday  School  Advocate ;  Mr.  Harper,  of  the  large 
book-publishing  firm  ;  Mr.  Hall,  a  father  in  American 
Methodism ;  several  ministers  of  the  city,  and  many 
ladies.  The  house  in  which  we  spent  the  evening 
(Mr.  Truslow's)  is  large  and  handsomely  furnished. 
The  rooms  were  brilliantly  lighted  up,  and  the  evening 
was  spent  cheerfully  and  religiously. 

After  free  and  friendly  conversation  in  groups  and 
pairs,  we  went  down  in  couples  to  the  eating-room  to 


>  \ 


-?  i" 


NEW   YORK. 


29 


partake  of  our  evening  meal.  The  eating-room  of  an 
American  private  house  is  that  in  which  all  the  meals 
are  taken  ;  it  is  usually  in  the  lower  story,  and  is  plainly 
fitted  up,  very  much  after  the  manner  of  refreshment- 
rooms  in  France.  The  meal  comprised  solid  food  and 
light  confectionaries ;  and  with  it  there  were  "  crackers" 
and  bon-bons  for  the  juveniles,  as  there  are  with  us  at 
Christmas  evening  parties.  Afterwards  we  sang,  read 
the  Scriptures,  and  prayed  together ;  and  when  we 
separated  for  our  respective  abodes,  at  something  like 
eleven  o'clock,  I  went  to  mine  at  Dr.  Osbon's  with  the 
feeling  that  a  more  cheerful,  sociable,  and  happy  even- 
ing I  had  never  spent  away  from  home.  Both  Dr. 
Hannah  and  myself  were  favourably  impressed  with 
the  general  intelligence  and  religious  excellence  of  the 
company.  The  ladies,  as  did  also  the  gentlemen,  showed 
themselves  to  be  well  read  in  history,  and  in  general 
literature ;  and  all  were  ready  to  converse  on  experi- 
mental and  practical  holiness.  There  was  no  brag, 
no  inquisitive  interrogations,  which  some  visitors  to 
America  have  complained  of.  Gentleness,  goodness, 
and  deep  veneration  for  England,  and  for  English 
Methodism,  were  ardent  in  all ;  and  they  openly  depre- 
cated, in  the  very  strongest  manner,  any  quarrel  of 
their  country  with  ours.  The  cheerful  conversation, 
not  altogether  unmixed  with  hearty  laughter,  of  this 
and  other  evenings,  fully  relieved  me  from  the  sombre 
impression  I  had  caught  of  American  character  in  the 
business  streets  of  New  York.  In  some  of  the  streets 
everything  human  looked  so  rigidly  grave,  that  one 
almost  thought  it  would  be  a  crime  punishable  at  law 
for  an  American  to  perpetrate  a  joke  or  a  pun  ;  but  in 
the  social  evening  party  there  was   full  proof  of  a 


80 


NEW  YORK. 


■  I , 


I  I 


!■ 


healthy,  buoyant,  and  joyous  spirit  in  the  American 
people. 

The  newspapers  of  America,  while  far  more  nume- 
rous than  with  us,  seem  much  inferior  to  ours.  They 
contain  very  little  "news"  comparatively,  and  of  that 
there  is  still  less  to  be  relied  upon  as  correct  or  true. 
The  attacks  made  by  the  newspaper-writers  on  public 
and  private  character  are  most  dishonourable ;  and  it  is 
plain  that  too  many  of  them  unscrupulously  pander  to 
the  loW;  vulgar  appetites  of  poor  fallen  human  nature 
for  gossip  and  for  scandal.  This  profligacy  of  the  press 
is  deeply  deplored  by  the  better  classes  among  the 
Americans. 

Partisanship,  too,  is  here  very  apparent.  It  is  truly 
amusing  to  converse  with  the  Americans  on  public  men 
and  public  questions.  To  hear  some  of  them  speak  of 
their  public  men,  one  would  almost  be  ready  to  conclude 
that  every  prominent  character  in  the  United  States 
belonged  either  to  the  band  of  spotless  patriots  or  the 
lowest  class  of  scoundrels.  Many  of  the  people  seem 
incapable  of  forming  any  moderate  judgment  of  their 
public  men ;  and  every  political  question,  however  tem- 
porary be  the  excitement  it  raises,  is  generally  spoken 
of  as  constituting  a  "  great  crisis"  in  the  history,  if  not 
in  the  very  existence  of  the  States. 

The  works  of  art  here  are  creditable  to  a  country 
which  is  in  its  youth,  but,  as  might  be  expected,  they 
are  very  inferior  to  what  we  have  in  England.  The 
general  talent  for  sculpture  must  not  be  estimated  by 
Hiram  Power's  "Greek  Slave"  and  "Pierced  Indian," 
which  we  saw  in  the  Hyde  Park  Exhibition  of  1851. 
America  produced  Benjamin  West,  and  may  yet  produce 
even  a  greater  painter ;  but,  in  the  raw  and  juvenile 


./    I 


NEW   YORK. 


31 


productions  of  her  existing  school,  there  is  no  promise 
of  him.  The  native  pictures  here  partake  more  of  the 
character  of  the  French  school  than  of  the  English,  and 
are  very  deficient  in  sobriety  and  repose.  The  German 
artists  have  some  good  pictures  exhibiting  here,  chiefly 
of  alpine  and  cataract  scenery  in  Norway,  and  being 
similar  in  their  subjects  to  those  which  they  annually 
exhibit  in  London.  The  New  York  "Crystal  Palace" 
is  now  in  a  very  dilapidated  and  forlorn  condition,  and 
is  seen  at  once  to  be  what  it  really  is — a  most  shabby 
imitation,  and  a  miserable  failure. 

There  are  many  charitable  and  benevolent  institutions 
in  New  York,  and  they  are  very  generously  supported. 
There  are  also  some  excellent  literary  and  educational 
establishments,  and  these  are  as  well  sustained.  The 
t  rgest  public  building  in  the  city  is  the  "Bible  Society 
ii-ouse  and  Depository."  It  occupies  a  whole  "block" 
by  itself,  and,  while  six  stories  high  throughout,  has  a 
frontage  of  some  700  feet.  Dr.  Hannah  and  I  went 
over  this  important  establishment,  conducted  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Holdich,  one  of  its  secretaries.  Its  issues 
amount  to  three- fourths  of  a  million  copies  of  the  Bible 
yearly ;  and,  as  all  the  printing,  stitching,  binding,  &c., 
is  done  on  the  premises,  it  employs  a  great  number  of 
persons.  I  remarked  there,  as  elsewhere,  the  general 
inferiority  of  the  paper  upon  which  their  printing  is 
executed  by  the  Americans,  and  also  the  want  of  breadth 
and  fulness  in  the  type.  We  had  each  presented  to  us 
a  large  octavo  copy  of  the  Book  of  Psalms,  in  the  very 
best  style  of  the  society's  printing ;  but  while  superior 
in  itself,  yet,  when  placed  beside  an  English  copy 
of  the  same  size,  and  challenged  to  say  which  was  the 
American,  I  had  no  difficulty  in  doing  so. 


32 


FEW   YORK. 


Li'  ) 


Our  own  "  Methodist  Book  Concern,"  as  it  is  some- 
what loosely  named,  is  also  a  very  extensive  establish- 
ment. It  is  situated  in  Mulberry  Street,  and  has  per- 
formed on  its  premises  all  things  relating  to  the  books, 
periodicals,  and  newspapers,  except  the  manufacture  of 
paper,  so  that,  with  its  numerous  issues,  it  also  employs 
many  persons.  Dr.  Kidder  kindly  conducted  us  over 
the  establishment ;  and  we  were  gratified  to  find  here, 
as  in  the  Bible  Society  House,  how  many  clean  and 
neatly-dressed  young  females  were  engaged  in  sorting, 
stitching,  and  ornamental  binding. 

But  by  this  time  you  will  begin  to  be  impatient  for 
some  account  of  religion,  and  particularly  of  Methodism, 
as  observed  by  us  in  New  i  ork.  I  have  not  had  much 
time  to  acquaint  myself  with  other  churches  in  the  city 
than  those  of  our  own  people,  nor  air"  I  likely  to  have 
the  opportunity  of  doing  so  before  I  leave  it ;  but,  from 
the  number  and  size  of  the  ecclesiastical  structures  which 
I  have  seen,  I  should  conclude  that  the  churches  here 
are  numerous  and  flourishing.  All  the  buildings  devoted 
to  public  worship  of  every  Christian  denomination  are 
called  "  churches,"  and  of  these  there  are  some  300  in 
the  city  and  its  suburbs,  belonging  principally  to  the 
Protestant  Episcopalians,  the  Presbyterian  3,  the  Bap- 
tists, and  the  Methodist  Episcopalian  Church.  The 
Jews  have  here  some  thirteen  synagogues ;  the  Roman 
Catholics  have  a  large  misshapen  cathedral  and  several 
other  buildings  in  different  parts,  and  there  are  struc- 
tures of  various  dimensions  and  forms  belonging  to 
almost  all  the  different  nations  and  to  the  principal  sects 
in  Europe. 

The  Sabbath  is  much  better  observed  in  New  York 
than  in  London  or  Liverpool.     The  streets  are  far  more 


NEW  YORK. 


83 


quiet,  the  pleasure-seekers  fewer,  and  t'ue  purchases,  if 
made,  are  more  concealed  from  public  observation. 
Among  all  classes  there  seems  to  be  more  reverent 
attention  paid  both  to  religion  and  its  ministers. 

Methodism  has  not  proportionably,  it  is  said,  the 
position  and  influence  in  New  York  that  it  has  in  some 
other  cities  of  the  United  States,  but  it  nevertheless 
stands  forth  prominently,  and  numbers  7000  church- 
members,  irrespective  of  the  many  thousands  who  are 
general  attendants  at  its  public  services.     Dr.  Hannah 
and  I  were  alternately  in  two  of  its  principal  churches  on 
Sunday  last,  and  were  much  gratified  with  what  we  found. 
The  churches  in  which  we  preached  were  good  substantial 
structures  of  the  Grecian  style  of  architecture,  and,  like 
all  the  American  churches  I  have  seen,  are  fitted  up  so 
as  to  secure  as  much  comfort  to  the  congregation  as 
practicable.     The  aisles  are  carefully  matted,  the  pews 
carpeted  and  cushioned  ;  and  distributed  throughout  the 
churches  are  leaf-fans  for  the  use  of  the  congregations 
in  hot  weather.     Happily  for  us,  the  weather  has  not 
been  very  hot  since  we  came  to  New  York ;  the  sight 
of  a  large  congregation  fanning  itself  for  relief  would 
not  be  the  most  helpful   accompaniment  to   ministers 
officiating,  and  unaccustomed  to  such  a  waving  scene. 
These  fans,  however,  are  really  necessary  for  the  relief 
of  the  people  when  the  heat   its  in.   You  will  know  that 
the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold  here  are  greater  than  in 
Old  England. 

The  American  pulpit  is,  in  my  view,  far  preferable  to 
the  English.  It  is  simply  a  reading-desk  at  the  front  of 
a  low  platform,  of  the  width  of  the  communion  rails, 
and  at  the  back  of  them.  It  is  not  boxed-up  and  im- 
prisoning to  the  preacher  as  our  cupboard-like  pulpits 


\  a 


m 


34 


^\ 


NEW   YORK. 


are,  but  is  open  at  the  back  and  sides,  while  behind  it, 
against  the  wall,  is  a  seat  long  enough  to  hold  several 
ministers.  The  accompanying  pen-and-ink  sketch  will 
best  explain  it. 


ffli 


HEM 


/J 


it 

i 

ii    ' 


IS 


1.  Scat. 

6.  Centre  Table. 


2.  Platform, 
6.  Steps. 


3.  Desk. 
1.  Step. 


4.  Lamp. 


There  are  several  advantages  to  a  minister  in  a  pulpit 
of  this  kind.  He  is  more  free  than  he  can  be  when 
closely  boarded  up  on  all  sides  ;  he  also  feels  himself  to 
be  in  more  intimate  association  with  his  people ;  while 
his  ministerial  brethren  who  may  be  present  are  seated 
behind,  and  out  of  his  sight.     With  the  usages  of 


*^M'*i9m*&mm 


NEW   YORK. 


85 


America,  there  is  sometimes  a  drawback  felt  in  the  other 
ministers  on  the  platform  stepping  forward,  looking 
over  and  taking  hold  of  the  officiating  minister's  hymn- 
book.  This  prevents  the  feeling  of  separation  for  the 
work  of  the  Preacher  which  an  English  minister  is 
accustomed  to  have.  But  this  is  a  mere  circumstance 
^hat  need  not  be  admitted,  and  so  must  not  be  received 
as  a  reason  for  objecting  to  the  adoption  and  use  of  the 
American  pulpit. 

On  the  Sabbath  morning  Dr.  Hannah  conducted  the 
public  service  and  preached  in  Mulberry  St  reet  Ciiurch, 
and  I  preached  for  the  Missionary  Society  in  th«  Seventh 
Street  Church.  I  was  not  very  well  prepared  for  my 
work,  for,  through  the  change  from  rocking  in  my  berth 
upon  the  ever-moving  sea  to  the  stillness  of  the  solid 
earth,  I  could  not  s^"  for  a  moment  in  the  night  pre- 
ceding. And,  like  Dr.  Hannah,  I  was  not  a  little 
annoyed  with  the  hymn-book.  It  is  iiot  only  different 
from  our  own  in  the  general  arrangement  of  'ts  subjects, 
which,  perhaps,  may  be  an  improvement,  bi  regardless 
of  Mr.  "Wesley's  warning  against  doing  so  (as  found  ia 
the  trulj''  characteristic  and  sensible  preface  affixed  to 
the  collection  of  hymns  he  published  for  the  use  of  his 
people),  our  friends  here  have  altered  some  of  the 
hymns,  both  in  the  words  and  verses.  They  have  made 
what,  no  doubt,  they  consider  to  be  "  improvements ;" 
but  they  have  thereby  supplied  additional  proof  of  the 
truth  of  Mr.  Wesley's  printed  declaration,  that  others 
are  not  able  to  mend  his  hymns  either  in  sense  or  verse. 
At  the  second  hymn  the  congregation  sat  to  sing,  or 
rather  to  hear  the  choir  sing, — this  increased  my 
annoyance ;  but  afterwards,  in  seating  forth  Christ  as 
"  the  Root  of  Jesse,"  who  should  "  stand  as  an  ensign  for 


36 


NEW   YORK. 


tlio  people,"  and  give  to  them  that  trust  in  Ilim  "a 
glorious  rest,"  I  overcame  these  petty  annoyances,  and 
forgot  for  a  time  my  loss  of  sleep  on  the  night  preceding. 

The  afternoon  was  spent  chiefly  in  conversation  with 
some  old  Methodist  friends,  who,  several  years  ago, 
emigrated  from  Lincoln,  and  who  had  travelled  many 
miles  to  see  us,  and  to  talk  with  us  about  the  "  old  city." 
Their  inquiries,  both  as  to  persons  and  events,  were 
numerous,  as  you  will  suppose;  and  though  greatly 
benefited  temporally  by  coming  to  America,  yet  they 
showed  strong  afi'ection  for  their  native  land. 

After  a  somewhat  protracted  interval  between  the 
morning  and  evening  services,  I  went,  at  half-past 
seven  o'clock,  to  conduct  the  service  and  preach  in 
Mulberry  Street  Church,  while  Dr.  Hannah  went  to 
attend  a  public  missionary  meeting  in  the  Seventh 
Street  Church,  presided  over  by  Dr.  Bangs,  and  where 
they  made  the  doctor  and  myself  life-members  of  the 
American  Methodist  Missionary  Society.  These  Sab- 
bath evening  missionary  meetings  we  should  not  hazard 
in  England,  lest  they  should  not  fully  accord  with  the 
sacred  character  of  the  day  ;  but  our  American  brethren 
liold  them  on  that  day,  and  seem  to  be  satisfied  with 
them.  I  found  less  annoyance  in  the  evening  than  I 
;did  in  the  morning,  and  had  more  enlargement  and 
jjower  to  proclaim  the  Word  of  Life.  After  the  service 
aiiany  ministers  and  friends  crowded  round  me  to  bid 
me  welcome  to  America.  Dr.  Hannah's  ministrations 
here  have  been  characterised  by  great  spiritual  unction ; 
and  it  is  surprising  to  find  how  many  there  are  who 
remember  his  visit  to  this  country  thirty-two  years 
ago :  then,  as  now^  his  ministry  was  highly  estimated. 

The  Methodist  ministirs  in  this  city  have  stations 


'A 


NEW    YORK. 


87 


>i 


rather  than  circuits,  for  their  public  labours  are  spe- 
cially directed  to  their  separate  churches.     They  have 
good  "parsonages,"  as  their  residences  are  named,  and, 
apparently,  larger  incomes  than  their  brethren  in  Eng- 
land ;  but,  when  all  things  are  taken  into  account,  it  is 
a  question  whether  they  are  really  better  provided  for 
than  English   Methodist   ministers.      Many  of   them 
are  said  to  have  taken  good  advantage  of  the  rising  cir- 
cumstance of  their  country,  and  to  have  multiplied  for 
use  in  advanced  life  any  money  they  may  have  had,  so 
that  they  are  less  dependent  upon  an  "annuitant"  or 
"  auxiliary  fund "  for  support  in  old  age  than  our  minis- 
ters are  at  home.     I  apprehend  that  this  will  be  less 
and  less  the  case  as  the  land  becomes  occupied,   and 
money  yields   smaller   returns.     "With   this   foresight, 
renewed  efforts  are  now  being  made  in  the  churches  of 
New  York  to  provide  suitable  maintenance  for  "  super- 
numeraries," or  superannuated  and  worn-out  ministers. 
The  "  presiding  elders,"  who  are  very  much  like  our 
"chairmen  of  districts,"  hold  the  "quarterly  confer- 
ences," or,  as  we  should  say,  "  quarterly  metfings,"  for 
the  several  circuits,  and  take  a  principal  part  in  the 
administration  of  discipline,  so  that  the  resident  minis- 
ters are  thereby  relieved  of  their  less  agreeable  duties. 
Here  there  is  a  desire  expressed  by  some  to  transfer 
such  semi-episcopal  duties  to  the  individual  pastors  of 
the  churches ;  but  I  cannot  see  reason  in  any  of  the 
statements  I   have  heard   to  believe  that   either  the 
people   or  the   preachers   would   be  benefited  by  the 
change. 

I  have  heard  also  some  compla'^^ts  whispered  by  the 
more  devout  and  spiritual  on  the  neglect  of  attendance 
at  class-meetings  by  too  many  of  the  members ;  and, 


38 


NEW   YOUK. 


from  what  I  can  learn,  the  renewal  of  the  quarterly 
tickets,  as  tokens  of  church-membership,  is  not  deemed 
so  important  a  ministerial  duty  as  it  is  with  us  in  Eng- 
land ;  but,  with  these  partial  relaxations  among  some, 
the  prevailing  cli  iracteristic  of  the  Methodists  in  New 
York  is  undoubtedly  that  of  earnest,  zealous  godliness. 
They  have  evident  delight  in  conversing  on  Christian 
holiness,  and  on  the  means  for  its  attainment.  Books 
on  this  subject  are  eagerly  sought,  and  extensively  read 
by  them.  They  are  also  careful  to  sanctify  private  and 
social  intercourse  by  the  reading  of  God's  Word  and  by 
prayer.  All  this  is  the  more  gratifying  when  it  is 
remembered  that  it  was  in  this  city  of  New  York  that 
the  first  Methodist  society  in  America  was  formed 
ninety  years  ago. 

The  origin  of  the  society  was  as  follows : — A  few 
Irish  Methodist  emigrants  not  having  here  the  means 
and  ordinances  of  religion  to  which  they  had  been  ac- 
customed at  home,  fell  into  the  fashions,  and  began  to 
join  in  the  "pastimes,"  of  the  unregenerate  world, 
when,  one  evening,  as  they  were  together  playing  at 
cards,  a  good  woman  of  the  company,  who  had  not 
joined  in  their  evil  practice,  was  roused  by  what  she  saw 
to  administer  reproof  to  the  others ;  she  snatched  up 
the  cards  from  the  table,  threw  them  into  the  fire,  and, 
with  all  the  power  of  sincere  and  earnest  rebuke,  cried 
to  Philip  Embury,  a  fallen  local  preacher,  "  You  must 
preach  to  us,  or  we  shall  all  go  to  hell  together,  and 
then  our  blood  will  be  required  at  your  hands  ! "  This 
led  to  the  first  Methodist  meeting  and  the  preaching  of 
the  first  Methodist  sermon  in  America :  the  reproved 
and  now  repentant  Philip  preached  to  five  persons  in  his 
own  hired  house. 


m 


NEW   YORK. 


89 


Such  meetings  were  continued,  and  were  soon  after- 
wards attended  by  Captain  Webb,  a  Methodist,  from 
Bristol,  who,  being  in  the  country  on  the  king's  (George 
the  Second's)  service,  joined  himself  to  them  that 
"feared  the  Lord,  and  spake  often  one  to  another." 
Others  soon  associated  themselves  with  this  little  band, 
and,  with  the  zealous  captain  at  their  head,  spread 
Methodism  into  the  surrounding  parts,  and  as  far  as 
Philadelphia.  A  large  room  to  meet  in  was  now 
required  in  New  York,  and  a  rigging  loft  was  obtained. 
Next  a  chapel  was  built  in  John  Street,  and  application 
was  made  to  Mr.  Wesley  for  a  ministerial  appointment. 
In  1768  he  stood  up  in  the  conference  of  his  preachers 
in  Leeds,  and  inquired,  "Who  will  go  to  help  their 
brethren  in  America?"  when  two  good  men,  named 
Richard  Boardman  and  Joseph  Pilmoor,  volunteered 
heir  services.  A  collection — the  first  "  missionary  col- 
lection" in  Methodism — was  made  in  the  conference, 
and  the  two  preachers  were  sent  over.  Afterwards 
Francis  Asbury,  Richard  Wright,  and  Thomas  Rankin 
were  sent.  And  then,  for  the  organisation  of  the 
Church,  which  had  become  considerable  in  its  extent, 
Mr.  Wesley  ordained  Dr.  Coke,  and  sent  him  forth  to  be 
the  general  superintendent,  or  first  bishop,  of  the  Me- 
thodist Episcopal  Church  in  America.  Since  then  it  has 
enlarged  and  spread  through  the  States,  until  now  it  is 
foremost  in  numbers  and  influence  of  all  the  churches  in 
the  country.  And  thus,  from  "a  grain  of  mustard 
seed,"  watted  over  the  Atlantic  by  accident,  as  it  would 
seem  to  some,  has  arisen  the  goodly  tree  which  already 
spreads  its  spiritual  branches  over  all  the  land. 


LETTER    III. 


PHILADELPHIA. 


^linplctl  ArnioynnccH  anil  PlcnsiircB  of  Knilwny  Trnvclliiip  in  America — 
Koute  through  New  Jersey — Arrival  lit  I'hihulelphiii — Scene  ninoiig  tlic 
Negro  Conchmcii — Provoking  hulilTerence  of  Auierieiui  ll()tel-kee|ier9 — 
Hotel  Life  in  Ainericn — Exposure  of  the  Young  to  Injurious  Indueiiccs — 
Order  and  Kcpose  of  the  Quaker  C!ity — Appearnncc  of  the  Streets  and 
Public  Buildings — Methodism  in  Philadelphia — The  Hall  of  Indepeiidenee 
— Franklin'*  Tomb. 


Dr.  Hannah  and  I  left  New  York  on  "Wednesday  at 
noon.  We  had  been  strongly  urged  to  remain  a  day  or 
two  longer  in  that  city,  that  wo  might  be  present  at 
the  celebration,  amonj^-  his  relatives  and  friends,  by 
Dr.  Bangs,  of  the  "jubilee,"  or  fiftieth  anniversary,  of 
his  marriage  ;  but  we  felt  that  our  special  mission  to  the 
General  Conference,  appointed  to  assemble  at  Indiana- 
polis on  the  1st  of  May,  was  our  great  object,  and  that 
we  must  not  halt  unnecesr  rily  on  our  way  to  it,  how- 
ever great  might  be  the  prospect  of  personal  gratifica- 
tion in  meeting  friends  on  so  interesting  an  occasion  as 
that  which  I  have  just  named.  We  have  also  been 
most  earnestly  importuned  to  delay  our  journey  to  the 
West,  in  order  that  we  might  attend  public  meetings  to 
be  held  at  Washington  on  behalf  of  the  Sunday  School 
Union;  but  the  remembrance  of  the  more  immediate  and 


[i 


PIIILADELriirA. 


41 


personal  duties  of  our  mission  determined  us  to  forego 
this  grutification  as  wo  had  foregone  the  other. 

Wo  took  our  places  at  the  water-side  of  Now  York  for 
a  through-journey  from  thence  by  railway  to  this  city, 
some  eighty-seven  miles,  for  which  we  paid  three  dollars 
each,  or  twelve  shillings  and  sixpence  sterling.  Before 
we  left  the  station  at  New  York  we  had  brass  checks,  '•  '^h 
correspondent  numbers,  given  to  us,  for  the  different 
portions  of  our  lugtrage,  and  thus  secured  their  delivery 
by  the  ticket-porter  at  the  end  of  our  journey.  This 
system  of  luggage-checks  is  simple  and  satisfactory  ;  it 
saves  the  traveller  from  all  care  and  anxiety  concerning 
his  luggage  after  he  has  delivered  it  iw  the  pjrter,  h«  v/- 
ever  numerous  may  be  the  changes  of  conveyance''  tur 
him  on  the  road.  We  crossed  the  water,  about  a  mile 
in  width,  from  New  York  to  New  Jersey  cty,  which  is 
on  the  west  bank  of  the  Hudson  River,  and  where  the 
terminus  of  the  railway  is,  in  a  steam  ferry-boat. 
Crowded  on  the  deck  with  us  were  carriages,  carts, 
cattle,  and  passengers  of  all  descriptions.  On  arriving 
at  the  other  side  of  the  water,  some  two  or  three  hun- 
dred yards  from  the  terminus,  there  was  a  furious  rush 
by  both  coach-drivers  and  persons  on  foot  to  gain  early 
entrance  to  the  railway-station.  We  did  not  know  tlio 
meaning  of  this  at  the  time,  bu^  found,  when  the  dis- 
covery was  too  late  to  serve  us,  ;hat  it  was  to  obtain 
the  best  or  most  desirable  places  in  the  carriages.  We 
seated  ourselves  separately  ly  some  rough  and  rude 
companions,  for  we  were  too  much  behind  our  fellow- 
passengers  in  time  of  taking  our  seats  to  bo  able  to 
secure  places  close  to  each  other. 

And  now,  for  a  while,  we  experienced  some  little  in- 
convenience from  the  practice  of  the  American  doctrine 


42 


PHILADELPHIA. 


of  universal  equality,  though  we  were  saved  any  extra 
expense  for  a  first  or  second-class  carriage.  Our  seat- 
companions,  who  were  farmers*  men,  unshaven,  and 
with  daubed  trousers  turned  up  almost  to  their  knees, 
leaned  and  lolled  upon  us,  and  doubled  their  legs  back 
over  the  stiles  of  the  seats  before  us,  until  they  assumed 
the  form  and  appearance  of  huge  clasp-knives.  More- 
over, they  chewed  tobacco,  and  jetted  out  their  saliva  at 
our  feet  and  over  us,  until  we  felt  ourselves  to  be  in  no 
enviable  situation.  This  incident  taught  us  a  lesson, 
ever  afterwards  to  be  remembered,  for  securing  early 
entrance  into  an  American  railway  carriage,  so  as  to  be 
able  to  select  our  company,  and  obtain  adjoining  seats 
for  ourselves. 

I  have  named  our  travelling  vehicle  on  the  rail  as  a 
"  carriage,"  but  that  is  not  the  name  given  to  it  here. 
What  we  call  "railway  carriages"  in  England  are  here 
called  "  cars."  These  cars  are  large  and  ponderous,  and 
appear  on  the  outside  something  like  huge  omnibuses, 
with  panels  and  let-down  windows  at  the  sides ;  within 
they  will  accommodate  from  fifty  to  eighty  passengers. 
The  seats,  each  intended  for  two  persons,  are  trans- 
versely placed,  and  an  aisle  divides  them  down  the 
middle  of  the  carriage,  so  that,  in  their  general  form 
and  arrangements  within,  each  car  may  be  likened  to  a 
small  church  on  wheels,  with  its  side-seats  and  middle 
aisle.  There  is  usually  a  charcoal  stove  in  the  centre  of 
the  car,  and  at  one  end  a  ladies'  retiring  closet,  in  which 
there  is  frequently  a  sofa  and  a  rocking-chair.  In  one 
corner  there  is  a  large  can  of  water,  with  a  chained 
mug,  for  common  use  by  the  passengers.  \ 

At  every  stopping  place  the  "conductor"  walks  down 
the  middle  aisle  to  examine  and  take  the  tickets  of 


PHILADELPHIA 


43 


f  extra 
p  seat- 
1,   and 
knees, 
;s  back 
38umed 
More- 
iliva  at 
e  in  no 
lesson, 
g  early 
IS  to  be 
ig  seats 

ail  as  a 
it  here, 
ire  here 
)U8,  and 
nibuses, 
within 
lengers. 
trans- 
wn  the 
|al  form 
ed  to  a 
middle 
lentre  of 
|n  which 
In  one 
Ichained 

cs  down 
jkets  of 


persons  entering  or  departing.  There  are  no  first, 
second,  or  third-class  carriages,  as  with  us.  The  cars 
are  for  all  white  persons  promiscuously,  except  that 
there  is  a  select  car  for  ladies,  which  is  in  better  order 
than  the  general  cars.  For  coloured  persons  there  is 
the  negro  car — coloured  persons  not  being  usually 
allowed  to  sit,  eat,  or  ride  with  the  whites.  The  negro 
car  is  a  rough,  heavy  vehicle,  very  much  like  our  lug- 
gage vans. 

A  lady  entering  an  American  railway  car  is  entitled, 
by  usage,  to  any  seat  she  may  prefer  that  is  not  occu- 
pied by  one  of  her  own  sex ;  and  if  she  enters  the  car 
with  her  husband  or  friend,  she  has  only  to  intimate  to 
any  gentleman  on  a  seat  that  she  wishes  to  have  it  for 
herself  or  her  companion,  and  it  is  immediately  surren- 
dered to  her.  The  seats  are  so  framed  that  they  swing 
over  upon  their  arms,  and  thus  afford  the  convenience  of 
friends  sitting  face  to  face  for  conversation  if  they  prefer 
doing  so.  Advantage  is  not  unfrequently  taken  of  this 
convenience  for  another  purpose — that  is,  for  securing 
leg  or  foot-resters  on  the  red  velvet-covered  cushions  of 
the  seats,  the  Americans  being  notable  for  nursing  their 
legs  on  tables  and  seats.  The  real  relief  to  either  Eng- 
lishman or  Am  rican  in  a  transatlantic  railway  car  is 
that  he  can  stand  upright  with  his  hat  on,  or  walk  to 
and  fro  for  exercise  along  the  middle  aisle.  The  com- 
parative retirement  of  our  own  country's  railway- 
carriage  will,  however,  be  preferred  by  an  English  tra- 
veller,— though,  if  he  journeys  in  one  of  the  first-class, 
he  must  pay  somewhat  more  per  mile  for  his  fare  than 
we  pay  here  for  travelling  in  the  general  cars. 

The  American  railway  engine  is  as  much  larger  in 
pi-oportion  to  ours  as  their  cars  are  to  our  carriages.    It" 


■A 


X 


44 


PHILADELPHIA. 


is  a  huge  black  monster,  with  an  elevated,  covered,  and 
glazed  box  in  the  middle  for  the  engineer,  and  with  a 
uall  begrimed  chimney  in  the  front,  which  throws  up, 
like  a  great  overgrown  rocket-tube,  showers  of  large  and 
dangerous  sparks  from  the  wood  fire  which  rages  under 
the  boiler.  It  is  said  that  when  extra  speed  is  required 
at  a  railway  race,  and  when  the  payments  by  a  great 
number  of  passengers  are  suificient  to  warrant  it,  no 
small  quantity  of  resin  is  thrown  into  the  fire  to  make 
it  burn  more  fiercely,  and  to  produce  force  from  the 
highly-condensed  steam.  The  truth  of  this  I  cannot 
affirm  by  personal  observation ;  but  this  I  know  already, 
that  at  times,  though  not  able  to  reckon  so  much  accom- 
plished in  several  hours'  travel  as  on  English  railways, 
yet  American  steam-engines,  and  their  heavy  cars 
appended  to  them,  rush  on  at  a  headlong  rate,  crossing 
streets  and  roads  where  there  are  no  gates,  no  police- 
men, and  no  signals  whatever,  except  an  unshapely 
white  signboard  (hoisted  up  over  the  line  at  the  head  of 
two  upright  poles),  on  which  is  written  in  black  letters, 
"  When  the  bell  rings  look  out  for  the  locomotive  /"  This 
bell  swings  on  a  swivel  in  front  of  the  engine,  and  is 
rung  at  crossings  and  at  arrivals  by  the  engineer. 

Our  route  to  Philadelphia,  through  the  State  of  New 
Jersey,  was  over  a  somewhat  flat,  sandy,  and  unpic- 
turesque  tract  of  country,  relieved  at  intervals  by  pleasant 
and  enlarging  towns  of  trade  and  manufacture,  and  by 
the  signs  of  advancing  cultivation  in  the  land.  Newark, 
the  first  town  of  importance  we  came  to,  is  evidently  a 
flourishing  place,  and  has  in  it  several  buildings  which 
stand  up  with  imposing  effect  above  the  houses  and 
**  stores"  in  general.  Most  of  the  houses  we  saw  by  the 
sides  of  the  line  are  of  wood;  but  good  substantial 


PHILADELPHIA. 


45 


;d,  and 
with  a 
ws  up, 
ge  and 
i  imder 
squired 
a  great 
3  it,  no 
;o  make 
om  the 

cannot 
already, 

accom- 
ailways, 
vy  cars 
crossing 
)  police- 
ishapely 

head  of 

letters. 
This 
and  id 

iT. 

lof  New 
unpic- 

Dleasant 

and  by 
Newark, 

lently  a 
[s  which 
Ises  and 
by  the 

)stautial 


'» 


dwellings  in  brick  and  stone  may  be  seen  here  and  there, 
with  ploughed  and  cultivated  fields  around  them.  In 
other  parts  the  log-cabins,  the  black,  burnt  tree-trunks, 
and  zigzag  "  snake- fence,"  told  of  their  occupation  by 
new  settlers.  As  we  proceeded  the  number  of  negro- 
huts  increased,  and  half-clad  coloured  men  and  women, 
with  their  naked  black  children,  were  seen  on  the  lands 
and  by  the  road.  We  saw,  also,  many  large  mules  in 
use  by  the  farmers  and  by  the  land-carriers,  these  ani- 
mals being  preferred  for  their  hardy  nature,  and  for 
their  feeding  on  coarse  food. 

The  **  forked  Delaware  " 'also  appeared  at  some  points, 
spreading  out  its  beautiful  waters  far  into  the  landscape  ; 
while  upon  its  bosom  might  be  seen  vast  floating  rafts 
of  newly  cut  timber — such  as  you  will  remember  to  have 
seen  upoii.  the  Rhine.  And  here  we  thought  and  spoke 
of  holy  David  Erainerd,  the  sickly  and  consumptive,  yet 
energetic  and  devoted  missionary  of  Christ  to  the 
Indians  of  these  parts;  for  it  was  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  Delaware  that  he  was  most  successful  in  his 
labours.  Here  the  man  of  naturally  melancholy  temper- 
ament, who,  nevertheless,  experienced  such  true  religious 
joy,  travelled  through  fc  rests  and  swamps,  swam  across 
the  deep  and  rapid  rivei*.  slept  upon  the  bare  ground, 
sheltered  himself  in  a  log-hut  built  by  his  own  hands, 
preached  to  the  ludians  in  their  wigwams,  or  gathered 
them  around  hira  in  the  open  air,  and  told  them  of  the 
Redeemer's  suflerings  and  death,  until  he  saw  them  lean 
upon  their  spears,  and  weep  like  children  at  the  recital. 

We  arrived  at  Camden  Feiry,  which  is  opposite  this 
city  of  Philadelphia,  by  dusk,  having  come  the  eighty- 
seven  miles  in  about  five  hours,  when  we  crossed  the 
river  in  a  steamer.     Ou  arriving  at  the  pier  a  ludicrous 


»'■"«,. 


46 


PHILADELPHIA. 


scene  presented  itself,  very  far  outdoing  the  earnest 
but  laughable  display  of  "touting"  zeal  which  meets 
the  traveller  at  the  terminus  of  some  continental  rail- 
way in  Europe — that  of  Calais,  for  instance.  Here 
were  black  coach-drivers  with  whips  in  their  hands, 
and  with  mouths  that  seemed  open  from  ear  to  ear, 
crowding  th*.  landing-place,  and  shouting  out  to  the 
passengers  tlie  names  of  hotels  and  boarding-houses 
with  an  appearance  of  furious  clamorousness  for  cus- 
tomers. Soon  they  began  to  denounce  one  another,  and 
also  the  hotels?  and  houses  for  which  they  were  respec- 
tively employed.  Their  negro  terms,  applied  jokingly  to 
one  another,  afforded  us  no  small  amusement. 

"  You  be  false,  bad  coachee  ! "  one  black  man  would 
cry  out ;  "  and  your  massa's  house  only  fit  for  niggers  ! " 

"  You  turned  ober  de  gentleman  and  lady  toder 
iiight,  and  don't  know  de  way  to  de  'otel — hear  dat, 
darky  ! "  the  other  w^ould  retort  at  the  top  of  his  voice. 

Then  there  would  be  seen  a  crowd  of  black  faces, 
laughing  and  gibbering,  and  then  a  rush  forward  to  the 
passenger  going  ashore,  with  a  shout  together  of  "  Come 
wid  me,  massa  !  come  wid  me  ! "  We  gave  our  luggage- 
checks  to  a  porter,  and,  under  his  direction,  got  into  a 
roomy  high-wheeled  carriage,  which  was  soon  stuffed 
full  with  passengers,  and  drove  to  this,  the  "Girard 
House,"  in  Chesnut  Street.  Our  luggage  soon  followed 
us,  and  was  delivered  safely,  the  expense  of  its  landing 
and  cartage  being  included  in  the  half-dollar  each, 
charged  for  our  places  in  the  coach. 

But  however  eager  and  clamorous  for  us  on  landing 
might  be  the  coloured  coachmen,  there  seemed  to  be  no 
great  haste  to  receive  and  accommodate  us  at  the  hotel. 
The  master  of  the  hotel  and  his  clerks  were  behind  a 


PHILADELPHIA. 


47 


irnest 
meets 
L  rail- 
Here 
lands, 
;o  ear, 
to  the 
houses 
)r  cus- 
3r,  and 
respec- 
ngly  to 

I  would 
rgers ! " 
J  toder 
3ar  dat, 
,  voice, 
k  faces, 
d  to  the 
"  Come 
aggage- 
into  a 
stuffed 
Girard 
bllowed 
landing 
T   each, 

I  landing 
to  be  no 
le  hotel. 
}ehind  a 


counter  in  a  bar-like  room  on  the  left  to  receive  the 
names  of  new  comers,  apportion  them  their  rooms,  and 
settle  their  accounts.     When  we  asked  of  these  autho- 
rities if  we  could  have  rooms  and  accommodation,  they 
viewed  us  with  indifference,  and  one  slowly  answered, 
"  I  guess  you  may."     Then  we  waited  for  some  time 
in  the  passage,  thinking  of  the  contrast  between  our 
strange  reception  here  and  the  bustling  officiousness  we 
should  have  met  in  Old  England.     At  length  tlie  pro- 
prietor's son,  as  he  appeared  to  be,  told  us  that  a  double- 
bedded  room,  with  such  a  number,  could  be  occupied  by 
us,  and  that  the  key  held  out  to  us  belonged  to  it,  cour- 
teously adding  he  would  order  refreshment  to  be  pro- 
vided for  us  without  delay.     We  took  the  key,  went  up 
to  our  chamber,  which  was  clean  and  airy,  and,  after 
the  necessary  ablutions,  went  down  into  the  dining-room 
for  a  sort  of  tea-dinner.     We  found  a  spacious  apart- 
ment, with  a  number  of  black  waiters  in  snow-white 
dresses  ready  to  serve  us.     With  ice-water,  tea,  roll  and 
butter,  and  hot  steak,  we  made,  after  the  day's  fast,  a 
good  evening  meal,  and  then  went   out   to   view,  bj'^ 
lamplight,  what  could  be  seen  of  the  s'xcets  of  Phila- 
delphia.     The   streets   in   general  were   orderly,   but 
liquor-ce'dars  and  drinking-rooms  were  visible  at  many 
a  turn,  and  voices  proceeded  from  some  of  them  which 
did  not  speak  of  sobriety.     We  passed  the  fronts  of  one 
or  two  theatres,  or  houses  of  amusement,  into  which 
was  thronging  low  company  of  both  sexes.   About  halt- 
past  ten  we  retired  to  our  room,  slept  well,  and  by  seven 
o'clock  the  next  morning  came  down  at  the  sound  ol 
the  bell  to  breakfai»t. 

Here  we  were  fairly  introduced  for  the  first  time  to 
American  hotel  life.     On  one  side  of  the  large  dining 


\:  :  I 


Jl  t 


48 


PHILADELPHIA. 


room,  and  on  Ijoth  aides  of  the  table,  sat  young  and 
middle-aged  mou,  with  their  wives  and  children,  taking 
their  morning  meal ;  while  on  the  other  side  of  the 
room,  on  both  eides  of  the  long  table,  mon  of  all  ages, 
without  any  women,  sat  at  breakfast.  Beliind  eitch  of 
the  four  rows  was  a  troop  of  black  waiters  in  cottcM 
dresses.  We  sat  down  among  the  me  i,  and  gave  our 
directions  for  what  we  wished  to  hiwe  bro  ".ght  to  us, — 
ice- water,  coffee,  I>read,  fish;  and  nicat, — and  fared  as 
well  as  we  could  desire.  !No  person,  except  the  drrk 
waiters,,  spoke  one  word  to  uf».  or  concerning  us,  thcit*>h 
many  looked  hardly  at  us,  and  watcl.od  very  ch  ly  our 
iiujvements ;  nobody  spoke  a  word>  indeed,  on  any  sub- 
ject u(  tLo  tables,  so  far  as  we  could  hear,  except  byway 
of  ordoT'rt  about  the  meal.  All  ate  with  earnestness  and 
iii  silnnee,  and,  so  soon  as  their  eating  was  finished,  rose 
up  with  energy,  individually,  and  stalked  forth  from  the 
room.  If  it  had  not  been  for  the  crying  of  an  infant, 
who  would  not  take  its  food,  we  should  have  been  as 
silent  in  that  large  dining-room  as  if  we  had  been  eating 
with  some  severe  fraternity  of  monks.  That  an  infant 
should  cry  rather  than  receive  its  food,  in  such  un- 
suitable circumstances,  seemed  not  surprising ;  and  I 
was  ready  to  ask,  as  I  saw  little  children  fed  among 
adults  at  the  silent  public  table,  whether  that  kind  of 
feeding  in  early  life  did  not  contribute  to  the  dyspepsia 
and  biliousness  under  which  so  many  of  the  Americans 
seem  to  suffer  in  after-years. 

This  hotel  life  became  with  us  quite  a  subject  for 
inquiry  and  study,  being  a  life  so  different  from  that 
of  the  hearths  and  homes  of  England.  With  many 
young  peisons  here,  when  there  are  thoughts  of  mar- 
riage, and  that  is  usually  very  early,  the  question  is  not 


:^'K 


r  and 
aking 
f  the 

ages, 
[vih  of 

LOttCM 

i.'c  our 

us, 

red  as 
9  drrk 

jhciicfbi 
-ly  our 
ly  sub- 
by  way 
ess  and 
ed,  rose 
:om  the 
infant, 
been  as 
eating 
infant 
ch  un- 
and  I 
among 
Ikind  of 
^spepsia 
lericans 

Iject  for 
lorn  that 
many 
lof  mar- 
Ln  is  not 


PEILADELPHIA. 


49 


whether  they  can  provide  and  keep  a  house  for  them- 
selves, but  whether  they  can  live  in  a  fashionable  hotel 
or  boarding-house ;  and,  when  married,  they  go  to  such 
a  place  to  reside,  and  have  thus  nothing  like  what  Kng- 
lishmen  regard  as  a  home.  At  an  hotel  they  live  for 
some  years  it  may  be.  In  the  daytime  they  are  almost 
wholly  in  public,  for  nearly  all  American  meals  at  hotels 
are  taken  publicly.  After  breakfast  in  the  morning  the 
husband  goes  to  business,  and  the  wife  usually  walks 
out  to  promenade  in  the  most  fashionable  streets,  or  to 
make  purchases  for  dress  at  the  "  stores."  At  dinner 
all  in  the  hotel  are  at  the  public  table ;  and  after  dinner 
the  husband  goes  back  to  business,  while  the  youthful 
wife  goes  into  the  ladies'  drawing-room- like  parlour,  to 
rest  on  the  sofa,  or  to  play  on  the  public  piano.  After 
tea  the  wife  again  goes  into  the  ladies'  parlour  (mostly 
in  full  dress)  to  spend  the  evening  among  her  own  sex ; 
while  the  husband  lounges,  talks,  smokes,  and  expecto- 
rates with  the  gentlemen  in  their  parlour,  or  in  the 
street.  What  a  strange  education  in  domestic  and 
married  life  is  this  ! 

In  the  private  houses  where  Dr.  Hannah  and  I  have 
been  the  good  housewife  was  apparent,  and  the  spirit 
and  manners  were  in  all  respects  what  is  most  to  bo 
desired  in  Christian  ladies ;  but  I  am  disposed  to  con- 
clude that  their  education  and  training  had  not  taken 
place  in  public  hotels.  The  effect  upon  young  children 
who  are,  from  their  very  entry  into  life,  always  accus- 
tomed to  public  companies  must  be  more  injurious  even 
than  upon  young  wives  and  husbands.  Constantly 
inured  to  glaring  publicit}'^,  children  are  sure  to  become 
either  shy,  dispirited,  and  uneasy,  or  obtrusively  for- 
ward.    The  latter  is  said  to  be  the  prevailing  character 

£ 


50 


PIlILADELrillA. 


;i. 


of  American  boj^s  and  girls — indeed,  there  hardly  seem 
to  be  any  children  in  America ;  however  young,  all 
give  their  opinions  with  the  air  of  men  and  women,  and 
with  the  evident  expectation  of  being  heard.  In  some 
instances  the  parents  find  themselves,  while  in  com- 
pany, superseded  in  authoritative  opinion  by  sons  and 
daughters  of  the  age  of  seventeen.  But  these  imperfec- 
tions of  Young  America  must  not  blind  a  visitor  to  its 
many  excellences :  and  the  wonder  is  that,  considering 
its  age  and  circumstances,  America  is  so  far  advanced  in 
the  order  and  refinement  of  society  as  it  is. 

This  city  of  Philadelphia,  the  metropolis  of  the  State 
of  Pennsylvania,  is  one  of  the  most  orderly,  clean,  and 
comfortable  cities  that  can  possibly  be  conceived.  It 
bears  throughout  the  impress  of  its  Quaker  origin  ;  and 
though,  like  the  Quakers'  dress,  it  is  too  regular  and 
uniform  to  be  grand  or  imposing,  yet  there  is  a  peaceful, 
quiet  serenity  pervading  it,  which  is  fully  in  accordance 
with  the  benign  spirit  of  its  founder,  William  Penn, 
and  of  some  of  his  first  adherents  within  it.  The  site 
of  the  city  is  well  chosen.  It  stands  on  an  elevated 
piece  of  ground,  some  two  miles  in  width,  between  the 
rivers  Delaware  and  Schuylkill,  and  had  in  it  six 
years  ago  nearly  409,000  inhabitants.  Next  to  the 
city  of  New  York,  it  is  the  largest  city  of  the  United 
States ;  and  it  is  pleasing  to  reflect  that  the  State 
of  which  it  is  the  capital,  with  all  its  inward  resources 
of  iron,  coal,  salt,  and  marble,  and  its  outward  beauty 
and  magnificence  of  fields,  fruit-trees,  and  forests,  was 
not  obtained  by  extortion  and  robbery  from  the  abori- 
ginal Indian  proprietors,  but  was  fairly  purchased  in  its 
length  and  breadth  by  amicable  agreement  and  treaty, 
as    represented   so   graphically  in  West's  well-known 


I, 


PHILADELPIirA. 


51 


seem 
r,  all 
,  and 

some 

com- 
s  and 
»erfec- 

to  its 
iering 
Lced  in 

B  State 

m,  and 

3d.     It 

n;  and 

Lar  and 

eaceful, 

jrdunce 
Penn, 
le  site 
evated 

een  the 
it   six 
to  the 
United 
State 
3  sources 
beauty 
sts,  was 
abori- 
d  in  its 
treaty, 
-known 


e 

3' 


picture.  This  just  and  considerate  conduct  of  "William 
Penn,  we  are  assured,  was  not  forgotten  by  the  Indian^, 
and  afterwards  was  a  shield  of  protection  to  the  Quakers 
when  wars  raged  most  furiously  among  the  red  men 
against  Euroi)eans ;  so  that  from  that  day  to  this  it  has 
not  been  known  that  a  Quaker  has  ever  been  injuixl 
or  slain  by  an  Indian — such  prevailing  might  is  there 
in  kindness,  such  is  the  true  policy  of  acting  justly  ! 

The  plan  of  Philadelphia  is  that  of  an  oblong  square, 
with  streets  crossing  each  other  at  right  angles  with  the 
greatest  order  and  regularity,  so  that  tho  city  shows 
itself  to  have  been  laid  out  by  the  line  and  the  rule. 
The  drawback  to  this  is  of  course  the  wearisome  same- 
ness which  pervades  the  whole ;  for  when  you  have  seen 
one  part  of  the  town  you  have  seen  the  whole,  so  far  as 
its  arrangements  are  concerned,  and  a  European  eye 
craves  for  some  crooked  streets,  intermingled  with  some 
towering  objects,  to  relieve  the  view,  and  to  give  it 
picturesque  effect.  There  are  about  GOO  streets  of  a 
width  varying  from  40  to  80  feet,  but  the  two  principal 
streets,  crossing  each  other  in  the  centre  of  the  city, 
are  more  than  100  feet  wide.  Nearly  all  the  houses 
are  of  neat  red  brick :  some  of  the  brickwork  in  them 
is  the  most  regular  and  the  cleanest  I  have  ever  seen. 
The  streets  are  all  well  paved  and  well  purified ;  and 
those  running:  one  wav  are  named  after  trees — as 
"Chestnut  Street,"  "Walnut  Street;"  while  those  run- 
ning the  other  way  are  numbered  "First  Street," 
"  Second  Street,"  and  so  on. 

There  is  a  good  market-place  in  the  middle  of  the 
city,  and  around  it  are  wharves  and  basins ;  but  ir 
maritime  trading  Philadelphia  has  not  advanced  as  was 
expected,  and  as,  with  its  outlet  by  the  Delaware  to  the 


52 


PIlILADELrillA. 


Atlantic,  it  is  doubtless  yet  destined  to  do.  The  niann- 
fuctures  of  this  city  ure  not  yet  very  important ;  they 
are  chiefly  carpets,  floor-cloths,  glass,  porcelain,  and 
articles  ibr  homo  use.  Pittsburn-,  which  lies  sonio  "200 
miles  hence,  in  the  heart  of  tlie  iron  and  coal  district, 
and  in  communication  with  all  the  States,  is  the  great 
place  of  manufacture.  I  fear  that  our  special  duties 
will  not  allow  us  to  visit  that  liirmingham  of  America. 

Along  the  sides  of  nearly  all  the  streets  of  Phila- 
delphia arc  rows  of  largo  and  beautiful  trees,  which, 
when  in  full  verdure,  give  coolness  and  most  delicious 
shade  to  the  passenger  as  he  treads  his  way  under  their 
spreading  branches  on  the  side-pavement,  which  is  of 
diagonally-laid  bricks,  a  material  which  I  never  saw 
employed  in  England  for  our  side-pavements,  to  the  best 
of  my  memory,  except  at  Brighton  and  in  the  Stafford- 
shire Pott  V  ries.  Independent  of  their  ornamen  t  al  beauty, 
the  trees  here  are  a  necessity,  for,  I  was  told  by  an 
English  resident  on  whom  I  culled,  thai  in  the  height 
of  summer  it  is  so  hot  in  Philadelphia  that  many  people 
cannot  bear  to  move  for  several  hours  in  the  day,  and 
even  water  in  the  bath  has  to  be  renewed,  so  that  it  may 
be  cool  during  the  time  of  use. 

There  are  some  good  public  buildings,  principally  of 
granite  and  Pernsylvanian  white  marble.  The  Mer- 
chants* Exchange,  and  several  of  the  banks,  are  fine 
edifices,  designed  and  copied  with  real  taste  from  Grecian 
models  by  ]\Ir.  Strickland.  The  "  Girard  College,"  in 
the  suburbs  of  the  city,  reputedly  a  fine  building  of  tho 
Corinthian  order,  I  have  not  seen,  so  I  cannot  state 
anything  concerning  it.  This  "  Girard  House,"  in 
which  we  arc  staying  (and  which  is  a  well-conducted 
hotel),  is  a  large  hauusome  building  of  sandstone,  and 


rillLADKLPIlIA. 


03 


displays  a  good  dc>;ieo  of  urcliitccturul  composition  and 
beauty.  Many  of  the  best  executed  red-brick  li  )use8, 
which  abound  in  the  city,  have  white  marble  steps 
ascending  to  their  marble  or  stone  porticoes,  while  the 
doors  are  cleanly  painted,  mostly  white,  and  the  silvered 
knockers  and  handles,  as  well  ;is  tlio  brass  balustrades, 
are  all  in  a  high  state  of  polish.  There  are  several  good 
squares  within  tlie  town,  which ,  with  their  smooth  gravel 
walks,  grass  lawns,  and  shady  trees,  form  agreeable 
walking  resorts.  The  "stores"  here  are  in  better  taste 
and  keeping  than  in  New  York ;  they  are  less  glaring, 
and  more  like  the  shop.-,  at  the  west  end  of  London. 
There  are  some  small  low-class  houses  here  and  there, 
but  tliese  are  fewer  in  proportion,  I  think,  than  in  any 
other  town  I  am  acquainted  with  ;  in  a  word,  for  clean- 
liness, neatness,  and  repose,  I  should  deem  Philadelphia 
the  pearl  of  cities. 

By  reputation,  the  ladies  of  Philadelphia  are  compara- 
tively reserved  in  company,  and  are  somewhat  exclu- 
sive and  "classish"  in  their  circles.  They  certainly 
exhibit  a  really  refined  taste  in  their  dress;  and  the 
quiet,  peaceful  faces  of  the  Quaker  ladies,  and  their  neat 
and  pleasing  apparel,  also  add  to  the  interest  and  repose 
of  the  city,  and  contribute  to  render  it  so  tranquillising 
and  inviting.  And  yet  this  tranquil-looking  place  can 
be  roused  to  agitation  and  violence ;  for  on  the  coming 
of  some  northern  men  into  it  some  yearn  ago  for  Aboli- 
tion meetings,  and  on  the  somewhat  iud;*; -eet  exhibi- 
-tion  in  the  streets  of  an  Abolition  pr«>C(  vsion,  in  which 
white  and  coloured  persons  walked  arm-in-arm,  a  mob 
assembled,  burnt  down  the  building  which  had  been 
raised  for  Abolition  meetings,  and  such  was  the  state  of 
public  feeling,  that  the  leaders  in  this  open  and  dis- 


»«> 


*>«. 


M 


rim-ADRMMriA. 


» . 


jfruccful  violence  were  not  brouj»ht  to  justice  iU  ^'umslicd 
for  their  liiwless  conduct.  To  the  honour  of  t)ie 
(junkers,  let  it  bo  remembered,  they  were  (ho  perscouted 
in  this  aftruy ;  from  the  bep^inning  they  have  been  fore- 
most in  the  work  of  slave  emancipation  ;  and,  in  justice 
to  some  portions  of  the  press  and  of  the  inhabitants  of 
I'hiladelpliia,  it  ought  not  to  be  forgotten  that  they  de- 
nounced this  anti-abolition  and  anti-coloured  outbreak 
in  the  very  strongest  t(Tms. 

There  are  numerous  chu  vhca,  belonging  to  different 
denominations,  here ;  and  some  of  them  arc  good  examples 
of  Greek  and  Gothic  architecture.  The  Methodists  are 
foremost  among  the  religious  bodies  both  in  the  city  and 
in  the  State ;  they  number  in  the  city  alone  as  many  as 
10,000  church-members.  We  were  besought  to  preach  in 
Philadelphia,  but  have  not  been  able  to  do  so  for  want 
of  time ;  yet  we  could  have  desired  to  do  so,  for  to  an 
English  IMethodist  this  is  a  city  of  great  interest,  on 
account  of  its  early  association  with  venerable  names  in 
^Methodist  history.  Captain  Webb,  the  military  Me- 
tliodist  from  Bristol,  whom  I  have  already  named,  was 
among  its  first  visitors,  and  his  Christian  labours  were 
rewarded  with  gracious  success ;  so  that  when,  in  1709, 
Messrs.  lioardman  and  Pilmoor,  from  the  British  con- 
ference, arrived  here,  they  found  not  less  than  one  hun- 
dred persons  gathered  into  membership  with  the  Metho- 
dist Society,  principally  by  the  good  captain's  efforts. 
The  following  letter,  sent  by  Mr.  Pilmoor  to  Mr.  Wes- 
ley, shows  this : — 

Philadelphia,  October  31*/,  1769. 

"  Revekend  Sir, — By  the  blessing  of  God,  we  are  snfely  arrived  here, 
after  a  tedious  jinssage  of  nine  weeks.  We  were  not  a  little  sur])ri8ed  to  find 
Captain  Webb  in  tow;:,  and  a  society  of  one  hundixd  members,  who  desire  to 


r*-'^^'^ 


rilTLADRLPTITA. 


65 


1769. 
cd  here, 


hir  ill  closi-  (ronnortiou  with  you.  'Thii  is  the  Lord's  doing,  and  it  if  mar- 
Vflli)u»  ill  our  eyes.' 

"  1  hiive  |iiTnched  several  times,  and  tlie  jjeoplc  Hock  to  liear  in  multitudes. 
SiiiidHy  rvciiinu'  I  went  out  upon  the  eoiniiKui.  I  had  the  Ntiige  u|i|)oiiited 
lor  the  iiorNe-ra('(!  lor  my  pulpit,  and,  1  thiiiii,  between  tour  niid  live  tlioii- 
sand  hearers,  who  iieurd  wilii  attention  «till  as  nijfiit.  HIessed  he  (Jod  lor 
iiehl-prenehiiig.  AVheii  I  heijun  to  talk  of  preaehin^  at  five  o'clock  in  lliu 
morning,  the  |)ei)ple  thought  it  would  not  answer  in  America;  however,  I 
resolved  to  try,  and  1  had  a  very  good  congregation. 

"  There  seeiiiM  to  bu  a  great  und  eU'eetual  door  opening  in  this  country, 
and  I  hupo  many  souls  will  be  gathered  in.  The  people  in  general  like  to 
hear  the  w(ird,  and  seem  to  hove  ideas  of  salvation  by  grace." 

Good  Francis  Asbury  also  laboured  in  this  city ;  and 
when  ho,  with  Richard  Wright,  arrived  hero  from 
England  on  tlio  7th  of  October,  1771,  they  found  that, 
through  the  blessing  of  God  upon  the  services  of  Messrs. 
Doardman  and  Pilmoor,  who  had  laboured  here  tilter- 
nately,  some  months  at  a  time,  there  were  !2r)0  members 
of  the  Methodist  Society  in  Philadelphia.  On  landing 
in  this  pliice,  Mr.  Asbury  and  his  colleague  immediately 
repaired  to  the  church,  and  heard  a  sermon  from  Mr. 
I'ilmoor,  whom  they  found  conducting  the  service.  And 
of  his  own  feelings  and  reception  on  his  entrance  upon 
the  great  field  of  his  successful  labours  for  Christ,  Mr. 
Asbury  relates : — 

"liie  people  looked  on  us  with  pleasure,  hardly 
knowing  how  to  show  their  love  sufficiently,  bidding  us 
welcome  with  fervent  affection,  and  receiving  us  as 
angels  of  God.  Oh !  that  we  may  walk  worthy  of  the 
vocation  wherewith  we  are  called !  When  I  came  near 
the  American  shore  my  very  heart  melted  within  me — 
to  think  from  whence  I  came,  where  I  was  going,  and 
what  I  was  going  about.  But  I  felt  my  mind  open  to 
the  people,  and  my  tongue  loosed  to  speak.  I  feel  that 
God  is  here,  and  find  plenty  of  all  I  need." 


"»Ai->*eri«'Mi.-.^»«  :.e;.,,  . 


56 


PHILADELPHIA. 


I    If 

F     ■ 


It  was  here,  too,  that  Thomas  Rankin  and  George 
Shadford,  Methodist  preachers  from  England,  landed 
0^  ihe  3rd  of  June,  1773 ;  and  here  was  the  first  con- 
ference for  Methodism  in  America  held  on  the  4th  of 
July  of  that  year,  by  ten  preachers,  who  reported  11 00 
members  belonging  to  the  several  societies : — so  that  to 
us,  as  Methodist  visitors,  it  may  easily  be  understood 
that  Philadelphia  is  a  place  of  great  interest. 

Next  to  the  Methodists  are  the  Presbyterians  and  the 
•Cf  Baptists,  for  numbers.     The  Quai,  jrs  are  now  divided 

ii)to  two  sections,  under  the  popular  names  of  the 
*'  Orthodox,"  who  are  of  the  old  school  of  AVilliara 
Penn,  and  the  "Hicksites,"  who  are  Unitarians  in  doc- 
trine. The  German  reformers  and  the  Roman  Catholics 
have  also  considerable  numbers  of  adherents  here. 

The  churches  are,  in  their  interior  accommodations, 
fitted  up  with  great  convenience  and  comfort  for  the 
^  ^  worshippers ;  and  several  of  them  have  large  week- 
'  night  lecture  and  service-rooms  underneath,  admirably 

arranged  and  furnished.  There  are,  likewise,  in  the 
city  and  suburbs  many  good  and  flourishing  educational, 
literary,  and  benevolent  institutions  that  fully  accord 
with  the  character  and  spirit  of  the  inhabitants. 

But  the  most  famous  of  all  the  public  buildings  of 
Philadelphia  is  its  old  State-house,  now  called  the  "  Hall 
of  Independence."  It  stands  in  the  front  of  Independ- 
ence Square,  adjoining  Chestnut  Street,  and  is  a  largo 
old-fashioned  brick  structure,  more  than  a  century  and 
a  quarter  old,  with  an  extensive  facade  towards  the 
street,  and  a  small  open  tower  or  cupola  on  the  top.  It 
was  here  that  the  first  American  Congress  was  held,  and 
the  original  **  Declaration  of  Independence  *'  signed  by 
the  leaders  of  the  revolution.     On   this   account   the 


PUILADELPIIIA. 


67 


I 


largo 


building  is  of  course  held  in  veneration  hj  all  Americans. 
The  room  in  which  the  Congress  sat  is  sacredly  preserved 
in  the  state  in  which  it  was  when  the  Declaration  re- 
cei^^ed  its  signature,  and  was  proclaimed  from  the  front 
steps  of  the  building.  Within  it  are  several  relics — 
such  as  chairs,  table,  a  wooden  statue  of  Washington, 
many  old  portraits  of  the  leaders  and  founders  of 
American  colonisation  and  freedom;  and  the  old  bell 
which  was  used  and  rung  at  the  time  of  the  great  pro- 
clamation, and  which  bears  this  significant  quotation 
from  Scripture  on  its  rim,  "  Proclaim  liberty  throughout 
the  land  to  all  the  people  thereof." 

Though  not  feeling  all  the  deep  and  natural  interest 
in  this  place  which  the  Americans  must  feel,  yet  we  felt 
that  a  spot  so  intimately  associated  with  the  memories 
of  Washington,  Franklin,  Jefferson,  Hancock,  Adams, 
and  others  of  those  remarkable  men,  was  classic  ground. 
The  calmly  penetrative  face  of  Franklin,  especially, 
cannot  but  frequently  come  up  before  the  mind  while 
one  treads  that  hall,  for  it  was  chiefly  in  Philadelphia 
that  he  lived  and  laboured.  But  it  is  with  him  as  with 
so  many  who  have  written  their  own  epitaphs — the  one 
he  wrote  for  himself,  Lnder  the  allusion  to  an  old  worm- 
eaten  book,  that  should  appear  again  in  a  new  and  more 
beautiful  edition,  corrected  and  amended  by  the  Author, 
is  not  to  be  found  on  his  burial  monument ;  there  is 
simply  a  plain  slab  laid  flat  on  the  ground,  inscribed — 


the 
It 
and 
I  by 
It   the 


Benjamin  )  -r^ 

I  Franklin, 

AND  >  ' 

Deborah  ) 


1790. 


IbMMMl^ilH^K^^ 


lf:tter  IV. 


WASHINGTON. 


Railway  Journey  over  Slave  Territory — Arrival  at  Washington — Uufillcd- 
up  Plan  of  the  City — Population  and  Vice — Manners  of  the  "  Represen- 
tatives " — fiaiety  of  Dress — Dandy  Negroes — The  Negro  Bazaar — The 
Capitol — Houses  of  Congress — Scene  in  the  House  of  Representatives — 
Contrast  to  the  British  House  of  Commons — Political  Parties  in  the 
United  States — President's  Ho  :"c — Congress  Chaplains — Terrific  Thun- 
derstorm— Plainness  of  the  American  Chief  Magistrate. 


We  are  now  in  the  legislative  capital  of  the  United 
States,  having  come  to  Washington  from  Philadelphia, 
a  distance  of  137  miles,  in  something  more  than  six  and 
a  half  hours.  We  left  the  Quaker  City  at  noon,  and, 
being  detained  at  the  hotel-door  waiting  for  nine  pas- 
sengers to  be  jammed  into  a  coach  only  large  enough 
for  six,  we  were  late  at  the  railwaj'^-station ;  and  were 
not  only  pressed  for  time  to  have  our  luggage  duly 
checked,  and  to  obtain  our  tickets,  but  were  also  driven 
to  take  such  seats  as  we  could  find  in  a  rough  and 
crowded  railway  car.  We  could  not  obtain  two 
adjoining  seats,  and  had  again  to  take  our  places  beside 
rude,  unshaven  travellers,  who  annoyed  us  by  their 
lounging,  and  copious  distillations  of  tobacco  juice. 
AVith  the  Delaware  on  our  left,  we  passed  over  some 
flat,  unvaried  country,  until  we  reached  Wilmington,  a 
town  of  considerable  importance  on  the  line,  to  judge  by 


"V^'ASIIINGTON. 


69 


[Tnfillcd- 
epresen- 
lar— The 
tatives — 
1  in  the 
ic  Thun- 


TJnited 
elphia, 
six  and 
n,  and, 
le  paa- 
nough 
d  were 
e  duly 
driven 
h  and 
two 
beside 
their 
juice, 
r  some 
gton,  a 
dge  by 


in 


what  we  saw  from  a  distance  of  its  streets,  warehouses, 
and  public  buildings.  Soon  after  this,  we  crossed  the 
boundary  of  Pennsylvania,  and  entered  the  Slave  State  of 
Maryland.  Our  reflections  on  this  circumstance,  at  the 
time,  created  within  both  of  us  most  painful  feelings, 
which  we  afterwards  expressed  t  each  other ;  and, 
whether  our  imaginations  darkened  the  objects  we 
viewed,  or  it  was  really  so,  we  both  thought  that  the 
transition  from  the  Free  States  to  the  slave-holding 
territory  might  be  seen  in  the  inferior  huts  and  dejected 
appearance  of  the  negroes  by  the  way-side,  as  well  as  in 
the  loose  and  slovenly  cultivation  of  the  land  around. 

We  crossed  several  streams,  creeks,  and  rivers,  flowing 
out  of  Chesapeake  Bay,  which  was  now  on  our  left ;  and 
we  went  shaking  and  rattling  along  in  our  heavy  cars 
over  great  lengths  of  timber-bridges,  resting  on  piles, 
unrailed  ofi"  from  the  water,  and  swinging  and  trembling 
fearfully  as  we  passed  over  them.  In  about  four  and  a 
half  hours  we  crossed  the  Patapsco  river,  and  rushed 
over  iron  bridges  that  stretched  over  docks  and  basins, 
and  down  the  middle  of  one  of  the  most  populous  streets 
of  the  city  of  Baltimore,  to  the  railway-station,  the  big 
bell  by  the  engine-chimney  ringing  :  A  the  way  to  warn 
persons  in  the  street  that  the  train  was  near.  W^e  there 
changed  our  carriage,  got  seated  together,  and  made 
our  mutual  observations  upor  what  we  had  seen  and 
felt  on  the  road. 

The  number  of  coloured  persons  had  greatly  increased 
upon  our  view  since  we  entered  Maryland ;  and,  as  we 
saw  them  in  the  fields,  in  the  streets,  at  the  railway 
terminus,  and  some  of  them,  half-clothed,  in  miserable 
low  dwellings  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city  which  we 
were  passing,  I  could  not  but  think,  prayerfully,  of  the 


■,  3 


1^ 


'■mtniiiii 


'60 


WASHINGTON. 


picture,  familiar  to  our  childhood,  ol"  the  negro  in  chains, 
with  hands  uplifted  to  heaven,  and  exclaiming,  "  Pity 
poor  Africa !  Am  I  not  a  man  and  a  brother  ?  " — for 
here  I  was  beginning  to  realise  the  existence  of  the 
wrongs  the  picture  had  so  long  foreshadowed.  We 
hurried  forward  past  the  junctions  for  the  Pittsburg  and 
the  Annapolis  railway-lines ;  and,  as  we  advanced 
towards  the  Columbia  district,  and  drew  near  to  Wash- 
ington, we  found  the  land  more  hilly  and  better  cul- 
tivated ;  numerous  villas  and  country  residences  scattered 
over  it ;  and  these  adorned  with  surrounding  gardens 
and  lawns,  spreading  cedars  and  fruit-trees.  On  arriving 
at  the  terminus,  which  is  near  to  the  Capitol,  we  drove 
about  haif-a-mile  to  the  "  National  Hotel,"  where  there 
are,  as  we  expected,  a  large  number  of  members  and 
visitors  of  the  House  of  Congress. 

Washington  is  impressive  at  several  points  of  viesv, 
but  it  is  far  from  looking  like  a  metropolitan  city,  and 
from  fulfilling  the  hopes  and  expectations  its  founder  is 
said  to  have  formed  concerning  it.  Planned  and  designed 
by  General  Washington  himself,  whose  name  it  bears, 
and  whose  perpetual  monument  it  is  intended  to  be,  it 
has  not  progressed  in  population  and  trade  as  was  origi- 
nally looked  for.  Perhaps  there  is  an  advantage  in  this ; 
for,  if  Washington  had  enlarged  as  rapidly  as  some  of 
the  other  cities  of  the  States,  it  might  have  been  difficult 
to  keep  the  crowded  inhabitants  in  order  during  times 
of  excitement  regarding  great  questions.  As  it  is,  any 
excitement  there  may  be  on  political  matters  in  Wash- 
ington is,  for  the  most  part,  within  the  Hall  of  Congress. 

The  city  is  finely  situated,  being  on  elevated  ground 
near  to  the  broad,  meandering  Potomac  River,  which 
communicates,  through  the  Chesapeake,  with  the  sea,  at 


*  fw«»»'^*'ff  »•  i>**'f " 


WASHINGTON. 


61 


Ollgl- 

this; 


some  eighty  miles  distance.  The  scenery  around  is 
pleasing,  being  composed  of  hills  with  verdant  slopes, 
and  of  land  richly  clothed  with  trees,  and  divided  by 
water.  From  the  Capitol,  as  a  centre,  the  streets  and 
avenues  of  the  city  radiate,  after  the  manner  of  the 
spokes  of  a  wheel.  Unfortunately,  when  the  plan  of 
the  city  had  been  laid  out  on  an  extensive  scale  of  some 
fourteen  miles  in  circumference,  and  the  Capitol  was 
commenced,  in  1793,  instead  of  disposing  of  the  plots 
of  land  nearest  to  the  central  object  in  the  first  instance, 
purchasers  were  allowed  to  select  building  ground  where 
they  pleased.  So  that,  now,  thei  3  are  large  open  spaces 
seen  between  the  structures,  and  that  in  all  directions, 
justifying  the  popular  saying  that  "  Washington  is  a 
city  of  magnificent  distances."  Some  of  the  streets  a.e 
nothing  more  than  enclosed  roads  that  run  out  to  the 
water,  or  to  the  woods  ;  and  th(}  whole  aspect  of  the  place 
is  that  of  half  village  and  half  town.  The  principal 
street  is  called  '*  Pennsylvania  Avenue,"  and  extends  in 
a  direct  line  from  the  Capitol  about  a  mile  and  a  half  to 
the  "  White  House,"  as  the  President's  official  residence 
is  called.  This  street,  on  ono  side  at  least,  is  pretty  well 
built  upon,  and  displays  some  good  shops,  or  "  stores." 
It  is  very  wide,  is  shaded  at  the  sides  by  rows  of  trees, 
like  the  streets  of  Philadelphia  (reminding  one  also  of 
Versailles),  and  is  the  chief  part  for  both  trade  and 
recreation. 

The  population  of  Washington  amounts  to  about 
54,000,  one  fourth  of  which  is  composed  of  visitors, 
including  the  members  of  Congress  and  their  families. 
The  varieties  of  the  population  are  num*.  -us  and 
striking.  The  permanently  resident  white  population 
are  said  to  have  come  from  all  parts  of  the  Union — 


.  H 


■•I 


''''*^m>aiAt»m,.'. 


62 


WASHINGTON. 


members  of  Congress  and  their  families  necessarily  do 
so;  and  the  number  of  coloured  persons,  mulatto  and 
black,  bond  and  free,  nearly  equals  the  number  of  the 
whites.  Fashion  and  dissipation  seem  to  be  the  general 
objects  of  life  here ;  morning-calls  and  evening-parties 
form  the  earnest  business  of  existence ;  and  the  sepa- 
ration of  many  representatives  and  male  visitors  from 
their  families  is  said  to  be  very  injurious  to  the  morals 
of  the  people.  The  large  proportion  of  showily  dressed 
female  mulattoes  and  Creoles  seen  in  the  streets  would 
indicate  this  at  once  to  an  observant  stranger ;  and  the 
mixture  of  rough  unpolished  men  of  the  West,  with 
the  more  refined  and  mercurial  men  of  the  South,  and 
the  whites  of  different  States  with  dark  meiiials,  many 
of  whom  are  slaves,  gives  to  the  population  of  AVashing- 
ton,  in  an  English  point  of  view,  a  painful  aspect. 

The  boarders  at  this  hotel  are  the  most  motley  and 
unsatisfactory  company  we  have  hitherto  joined.  They 
are  principally  representatives  and  their  visitors.  To 
some  of  these  their  eight  dollars  per  day  from  the  people 
electing  tliem  must  be  important,  to  judge  fj-om  their 
appearance  and  manners.  They  are  thorough  slovens 
in  dress,  rude  and  obtrusive  in  behaviour,  crowd  the 
hall  and  passages,  aud  smoke  and  spit,  and  pass  to  and 
fro  and  in  and  out  with  a  reckless,  self-important,  and 
"  I  do  as  I  like  "  air.  Mingled  with  them — or,  rather, 
in  the  gentlemen's  parlour,  or  reading-room — there  are 
several  more  gentle  and  refined  spirits,  but  they  are 
not  suflicient  in  number  to  give  effectual  relief  to  the 
unpleasant  picture.  The  first  profane  oath  we  have 
heard  since  we  left  England  was  uttered  here  by  au 
elderly  man  wlio  sat  opposite  to  us  at  breakfast ;  and 
who,  when  reproved  for  it  by  Dr.  Hannah,  said,  putting 


!1 


WASHINGTON. 


63 


ittmg 


his  hand  io  h's  pocket,  "  Pray,  sir,  what  am  I  indebted 
to  you  for  your  counsel?"  Our  public  meals  here, 
though  dearly  paid  for,  are  far  fiom  agreeable.  There 
is  plenty  of  good  and  substantial  food  on  the  table,  but 
it  is  taken  in  such  a  hurry,  and  with  such  a  selfish  kind 
of  scramble, — every  one  clutching  what  he  can  for  him- 
self, without  any  respect  to  his  neighbours'  wants,  and 
that  with  the  most  dogged  silence, — that  our  English 
idea  of  a  "  comfortable "  meal  receives  a  sore  shock. 
Each  man  here  seems  to  bolt,  rather  than  eat  his  food  ; 
and  to  see  one  after  another  start  up  and  hurry  away 
out  of  tho  room,  yon  would  suppose  every  one  had  some 
vastly  important  affairs  to  transact.  But  when  you  quit 
the  table  yourself,  and  go  out  into  the  entrance  hall,  you 
find  it  thronged  with  loungers  und  smokers,  just  come 
from  the  tabic :  so  that  habit  and  self-indulgence,  not 
necessity,  evidently  induce  the  conduct  so  strange  and 
disagreeable  to  an  Englishman.  I  should  say  that,  on 
the  average,  Americans  at  public  tables  eat  more  than 
we  Englishmen,  and  that  of  substantial  food  ;  but  I  think 
I  may  state  that  a  quarter  oi  an  hour  is  almost  the  full 
extent  of  the  time  an  American  devotes  to  his  hotel 
dinner.  In  private  society,  where  we  have  been,  there 
is  none  of  this  semi-barbarous  "  hurry-skurry,"  but 
everything  is  agreeable.  It  is  only  of  hotel  life  in  this 
place  that  I  now  write ;  and  hero,  at  all  meals,  and 
wherever  you  may  be  served,  by  waiters  or  porters,  there 
is  the  painful  suspicion  haunting  you  that  they  who 
wait  upon  or  serve  you  in  this  legislative  capital  are 
slaves.  This  thought  darkens,  and  perhaps  distorts  all 
one's  views ;  and  so  heavily  has  it  oppressed  me  at  all 
meals  that  I  could  not  eat  with  comfort,  and  often  have 
I  had  difficulty  in  restraining  an  impulse  to  rise  up  from 


't ;! 


I 


i  J 


i***T»Bf|»4igi*M:„ 


:s 


64 


WASHING  TON. 


my  seat  at  table,  and  tell  the  poor  slave,  as  I  supposed 
him  to  be,  waiting  behind  me,  to  sit  down  and  take  my 
place,  and  eat  tlio  meal  while  I  waited  upon  him,  to 
show  that  I  believed  him  to  be  "  a  man  and  a  brother." 
In  the  streets  of  Washington,  and  especially  during 
morning  promenade,  there  is  a  great  display  of  gay  dress 
to  be  seen ;  and  it  is  not  confined  to  the  whites  :  some 
of  the  coloured  people,  who  have  the  means,  dress  extra- 
vagantly fine :  silk-gowns,  white  gauze  and  feathered 
bonnets,  white   or   flesh-coloured   stockings,  and  satin 
shoes,  with  variously-coloured  parasols  to  guard  the  face 
from  the  sun,  may  be  seen  on  the  dark,  and,  in  some 
instances,  easy  and  graceful  forms,  and  in  the  hands,  of 
coloured  females   promenading  in   the  forenoon  along 
Pennsylvania  Avenue.    The  black  male  dandy  is  also  to 
be  seen;  and,  of  all  sights,  Le  is  the  most  ridiculous. 
Sambo  is  plainly  an  imitative  creature,  but,  like  most 
other  imitators,  he  strays  into  caricature :  thus,  Sambo 
plays  the  fine  gentleman  in  the  streets  of  Washington 
by  wearing  a  coat  of  superfine  broadcloth,  cut  in  the 
newest  fashion,  and  richly  adorned  with  gilded  buttons, 
and  a  profusion  of  white  starched  shirt-collar  and  wrist- 
bands, and  of  frilled  shirt-front ;   he  holds  a  silver  or 
gold- tipped  cane  within  white  kid  gloves ;  he  perches 
his  hat  sideway  on  a  head  tossed  up  with  consequence ; 
and  struts  like  a  magpie.    This  is  a  sight  that  alternately 
provokes  one  to  laughter  and  moves  one  to  pity.     It  is 
not,  however,  a  very  frequent  sight,  for  there  are  not 
many  coloured  men  in  Washington  able  to  dress  thus. 
Many  of  them  are  meanly  clad,  and  show  by  the  palms 
of  their  hands  and  the  soles  of  their  naked  feet,  whitened 
by  toil  and  walking,  that  their  life  is  one  of  hard  and 
severe  labour.     I  followed  some  of  these  injured  and 


^^ 


WASHINGTON. 


65 


>> 


vrist- 
er  or 
relies 
iiice ; 
ately 

It  is 
3  not 
thus, 
alms 
ened 
and 
and 


degraded  sons  and  daughters  of  Africa  to  their  haunts 
and  huts  behind  the  larger  streets  and  avenues,  that  I 
might  see  how  they  were  housed,  and  found  that  some 
of  them  were  in  a  very  desolate  and  pitiable  condition ; 
and  on  the  second  evening  of  our  stay  here,  I  pushed  my 
way  into  a  negroes'  bazaar,  which  was  held  in  a  cross 
street  at  a  large  room,  on  behalf,  I  believe,  of  an  African 
Baptist  church.  And  of  all  crowded  and  heated  places, 
this  was  the  most  disagreeably  so  of  any  I  had  seen. 
There  were  dark  females  within  their  stal^=;,  gaily  clad, 
and  with  coquettiiih  smiling  looks  selling  their  highly- 
coloured  and  gaudily-embroidered  articles.  There  were 
black  and  bronzed  perspiring  young  men  and  women, 
arm  in  arm,  parading  the  room  in  their  best  attire, 
joking,  laughing,  and  jabbering  away  through  their 
even  rows  of  white  teeth,  in  the  most  amusing  style ; 
and  yet,  with  this,  there  was  a  child-like,  easy  sim- 
plicity that  rendered  the  novel  assemblage  pleasing  and 
interesting.  There  were  no  white  faces  to  break  or 
diversify  the  scene,  and  my  pres(?nce  evidently  caused 
surprise  to  the  coloured  company. 

The  Capitot.,  as  the  house  of  legislation  is  loftily 
named,  is  the  principal  object  of  attraction  in  Washing- 
ton, and  it  is  undoubtedly  a  fine  and  magnificent  edifice. 
Standing  on  a  considerable  elevation,  it  overlooks  the 
city,  and  may  be  seen  from  all  parts  as  its  crowning 
ornament.  It  is  faced  with  white  marble,  and,  associated 
with  the  green  mound  on  which  it  stands,  and  with  the 
terraces,  walks,  and  shrubbery  around  it,  is  at  once 
pleasing  and  imposing.  It  is  by  far  the  best  building  I 
have  seen  in  America.  It  has  a  grand,  serene,  and  noble 
effect,  and  is  fully  worthy  of  the  purpose  to  which  it  is 
devoted— the  debating  and  framing  of  the  laws  by  which 

F 


<iwn  i»iiinBimwK 


1 


66 


WASJITNGTON. 


a  great  and  rising  people  are  to  bo  governed.  In  form, 
it  is  a  largo  oblong  squaro,  crowned  with  a  high  dome 
in  the  cor  re,  and  has  wings  attached  to  the  middle  of 
its  sides  covered  with  domes  of  less  altiti.«i<\  The  style 
of  architecture  is  the  Corinthian,  nnd  oi  that  style  it  is 
a  chaste,  simple,  and  harmonious  example.  The  entire 
front  is  352  feet  long,  the  breadth  of  tlie  building  2G9 
feet,  and  its  height  in  the  centre  120  feet.  Additional 
wings  of  large  dimensions  are  now  being  erected,  and 
there  is  to  be  raised  in  the  centre  a  still  loftier  dome. 
The  sketch  given  of  this  grand  and  imposing  structure 
is  taken  from  a  photograph  copy  of  the  architect's  own 
drawing,  and  will  show  you  what  it  is  intended  to  be  in 
its  outward  appearance.  In  the  centre,  within  and 
under  the  principal  dome,  is  the  Hotunda,  which  is 
nearly  100  feet  in  diameter,  and  nearly  100  feet 
high.  It  is  embellished  witli  sculpture  in  alto  rc/icvOy 
and  with  large  historical  paintings.  The  sculpture, 
within  sunken  stone  panels  at  the  four  cardinal  points,  is 
somewaat  rude.  It  represents — Smith  delivered  by  the 
Intc!  ^M  «it  on  of  Pocahontas ;  the  Landing  of  the  Pilgrim 
Fatliors ;  Boone's  Conflict  with  the  Indians ;  and  Penn 
treating  with  the  Red  Men  for  his  Territory.  The 
paintings  represent — the  Presentation  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  to  Congress ;  the  Surrender  of  Burgoyne 
to  Gates ;  the  Surrender  of  Cornwallis,  at  York-town ; 
"Washington  resigning  his  Commission  to  Congress,  at 
Annapolis ;  the  Baptism  of  Pocahontas  ;*  and  the  Em- 

*  The  8tory  of  Pocahontas,  the  Indian  chief's  daughter,  here  celebrated  in 
painting  and  sculpture,  is  romantic  in  interest.  A  party  of  the  early  English 
colonists  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  Powhattan,  her  father,  a  powerful  chief. 
All  the  English  party  were  summarily  put  to  death  except  Captain  John 
Smith,  their  leader,  who,  instead  of  manifesting  fear,  displayed  to  the  savages 


il' 


WASHINGTON. 


67 


[ted  in 

Inglish 

1  chief. 

John 

bivages 


biivkatlon  of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers.  These  pictures  are 
all  large,  and  nearly  cover  the  walls  of  the  Rotunda. 
The  first  four  are  by  Colonel  Trumbull,  a  veteran  of  the 
revolutionary  war,  and  arc  stiff  and  formal  in  com- 
position ;  and  the  last  two  are  by  modern  American 
artists,  and  are  wanting  in  solidity  and  repose,  both  in 
style  of  design  and  colour.  There  are  some  good  statues 
on  the  terrace  of  the  cast  front — one  of  Columbus,  with 
a  globe  in  his  hand,  and  ^ndian  woman  by  his  side ; 
and  two  others,  emb^  '^  Peace  and  War.     In 

bas-relief,    above,    there     i'^  ^'ure   of    Washington 

crowned  by  Fame,  while,  m  iho  ground  before  the  east 
front,  there  is  a  colossal  sitting  figure  of  the  great 
statesman,  by  Greenough,  and  bearing  a  Latin  inscrip- 
tion on  its  pedestal,  signifying  that  "  Horace  Green- 
ough made  this  image  to  the  great  example  of  liberty, 
and  not  without  (liberty)  itself  to  endure."  On 
another  side  of  the  pedestal  is  inscribed — **  First  in 
war :  First  in  peace :  First  in  the  hearts  of  his  coun- 
trymen." 

Leading  off  from  the  Rotunda,  in  the  middle,  are 

his  pocket-compass,  and,  by  signs  and  gestures,  engaged  and  amused  them 
with  a  description  of  the  form  of  the  earth,  and  the  nature  of  the  planetary 
system.  Throe  successive  days  they  look  counsel  as  to  what  was  to  be  done 
with  this  wonderful  being,  and  at  Ipngili  decreed  his  death  ;  l^;it,  as  he  bowed 
his  head  to  receive  the  fatal  stroke  of  the  tomahawk,  Pocahontas,  the  chief's 
young  and  favourite  dauirhter,  threw  herself  upon  the  neck  of  th?-  interesting 
stranger,  and  begged  for  his  life,  suying  he  should  make  hatchets  for  her 
father,  and  rattles,  strings,  and  beads  for  herself.  His  life  was  spared,  and 
he  afterwards  made  important  discoveries  on  the  coast.  Some  years  after- 
wards, Pocahontas  herself  fell  iuto  the  hands  of  Euglish  colonists,  when  she 
was  instructed  in  Christianity  and  baptised,  as  the  first  Indian  convert  in 
America.  She  was  then  sought  in  marriage  by  John  Rolfe,  who  brought  her 
to  England,  where  she  died,  after  winning  love  and  admiration  as  a  Christian, 
a  wife,  and  a  mother. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


1.1 


11.25 


Ui|2£    |2.5 

*ii  Ui    |2.2 

2.0 


U    11.6 


1^1 


^ 


HiotDgraphic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


^^ 


^^' 


33  WIST  MAIN  STRUT 

WiiSTIR.N.Y.  USm 

(71*)  •72-4503 


1 


68 


WASHINGTON. 


passages  to  the  Senate  Chamber  and  to  the  Hall  of  Re- 
presentatives, which  are  in  the  north  and  south  wings 
of  the  building.  These  are,  as  to  their  general  plan 
and  arrangements,  much  alike,  only  the  Hall  of  Repre- 
sentatives is  considerably  larger  than  the  Senate  Cham- 
ber. They  are  semicircular  in  shape,  with  the  chair  for 
the  president,  or  speaker,  in  the  middle  of  the  diameter 
line ;  the  seats  and  desks  of  the  senators,  or  represent- 
atives, being  arranged  in  semicircular  rows,  very  much 
after  the  style  of  the  French  legislative  chambers.  Into 
galleries  around  and  behind  the  speaker,  the  public  are 
admitted.  In  its  interior  fittings  of  Potomac  marble 
pillars  and  dome-roofed  ceilings,  with  curtains  and 
carpets,  each  place  of  legislative  assemblage  is  handsome 
and  tasteful.  Under  the  Senate  Chamber  is  the  apart- 
ment in  which  the  supreme  court  holds  its  sessions  once 
a  year,  and  over  the  entrance  of  the  west  front  is  the 
Library,  containing,  it  is  said,  some  30,000  volumes, 
and  elegantly  fitted  up.  There  are  numerous  oCices 
within  the  general  building ;  and  outside,  both  at  the 
east  and  west  fronts,  the  porticoes,  steps,  and  balustrades 
are  very  stately  and  impressive  in  their  effect. 

"We  attended  both  Houses  of  the  Congress  at  the  time 
of  their  sittings,  that  we  might  see  and  hear,  in  their 
respective  places,  the  senators  and  representatives  of 
the  people  of  America.  The  Senate  is  presided  over 
by  the  Vice-President,  the  second  magistrate  of  the 
United  States:  it  is  composed  of  two  members  from 
the  Legislature  of  each  State,  who  are  elected  for  six 
years,  one-third  of  the  whole  Senate  going  out  of  office 
every  two  years.  We  were  pleased  with  the  senators ; 
they  bore  much  of  the  appearance  of  old  English  country 
gentlemen.      They   seemed,   indeed,   to   be    fit  repre- 


r-  f^^^wS^i^"' ' 


WASHINGTON. 


69 


\ 


sentatives  of  property,  for  so  they  may  be  considered 
from  the  mode  of  their  election.  Some  of  them  spoke 
with  great  order,  and  very  effectively.  But  we  were  not 
so  much  gratified  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  The 
speaker  is  a  fine,  noble-looking  man ;  and  there  were 
some  of  the  members  who  seemed  to  be  thoughtful,  and 
lovers  of  order ;  but  many  of  them  appeared  to  be  rude, 
disorderly,  and  bawling  men,  who  do  not  mend  what  we 
call  the  "  Queen's  English"  either  in  form  or  tone.  We 
were  told  by  friends,  before  we  paid  thib  visit  to  the 
place  of  national  debate,  that  not  a  few  of  the  represent- 
atives are  mere  political  adventurers,  who  live  and 
trade  upon  public  excitement,  and  have  no  great  amount 
of  confidence  placed  in  them  by  anybody.  In  looking 
upon  them,  and  listening  to  them,  I  could  fidly  under- 
stand and  believe  this  statement. 

The  principal  subject  of  discussion  when  we  were  in 
attendance  was  the  correctness  of  a  decision  pronounced 
from  the  chair.  The  clamour  for  opportunity  to  speak 
was  great,  and  the  speaking  against  one  another  violent. 
If  what  we  witnessed  ought  to  be  taken  as  a  fair  speci- 
men of  the  daily  proceedings  in  that  House  of  Congress, 
one  woidd  be  ready  to  conclude  that  it  requires  no  great 
sum  of  wisdom,  genius,  or  even  business-like  talent,  to 
govern  the  American  people.  We,  however,  found  thare 
was  good  reason  to  believe  that  the  people,  generally,  are 
better  than  their  parliamentary  representatives.  It  would 
be  nearly  impossible  to  caricature  the  strange  things 
we  heard  from  some  of  these  national  talkers.  Several 
of  them,  with  complexions  like  meerschaum  pipes  that 
have  been  long  in  use,  might  have  been  taken  for  tra- 
vellers from  the  backwoods ;  and  these  delivered  them- 
selves in  the  most  inflated  style,  piling  together  epithets 


/ 


70 


WASHINGTON. 


in  the  superlative  with  unmerciful  profusion,  and  strain- 
ing after  figures  of  speech,  as  if  words,  and  not  thoughts, 
were  the  great  requisites  for  guiding  the  judgments  of 
those  who  heard  them  to  a  proper  conclusion.  Some  of 
the  speeches  we  heard  must  have  been  delivered  for 
liinkem,  as  the  Americans  designate  what  is  spoken  for 
mere  out-of-doors  effect. 

Between  the  routine  and  other  circumstantials  of  the 
American  parliament  and  ours,  of  course  there  are  some 
differences.  We  had  no  written  orders  to  obtain  for 
entrance  into  either  house  of  Congress.  Visitors  of  all 
kinds  are  present,  both  in  the  galleries  and  on  the  floor : 
men  in  working  clothes  as  well  as  persons  in  fashionable 
dress ;  and  there  were  also  many  ladies  in  the  galleries. 
The  president,  or  speaker,  was  in  plain  clothes,  and  so 
were  the  clerks  and  officers  of  each  house.  There  are 
no  ministerial  benches,  or  mention  of  this  or  that  side 
of  th'3  house;  no  cries  of  "hear,  hear,"  or  "divide;" 
no  cheering,  coughing,  or  interruptions  resembling 
those  so  customary  in  the  British  House  of  Commons. 
The  members  secure  their  seats  by  choice  as  they  arrive 
at  the  beginning  of  a  session ;  each  man  speaks  as  long 
and  as  loudly  as  he  pleases,  but  there  is  often  a  I 
fight  for  the  next  turn,  many  rising  when  the  speit-:^  r 
sits  down,  and  no  small  difficulty  in  determining  who 
is  to  have  the  turn.  The  houses  sit  from  tvT^f^lve  at  noon 
to  four,  or,  if  necessary  for  the  dispatch  oi  business,  to 
six,  or  later. 

I  need  scarcely  say  that  party-feeling  in  politics  runs 
extremely  high  in  this  city  and  in  this  country.  Nearly 
all  profess  the  strongest  attachment  to  the  constitution, 
and  seem  as  if  they  would  sacrifice  anything  to  maintr  in 
it,  and  yet  never  were  parties  more  violently  opposed  to 


iy 


WASHINGTON. 


71 


each  other,  and  never  were  parties  in  a  country  more 
numerous.  There  are  "Whigs,  Democrats,  Democrat-Re- 
publicans, or  Loco-focos,  NuUifiers,  Seceders,  Workies, 
and  Know-nothings,  beside  Pro-Slavery  and  Anti- 
Slavery  men,  these  last  two  belonging  usually  to  one  or 
another  of  the  political  parties  as  well.  The  three  first- 
named  parties  are  of  most  importance.  The  Whigs  are 
what  we  should  call  Conservatives ;  the  Democrats  re- 
semble our  "Whigs,  or  moderate  reformers ;  and  the 
Democrat-Republicans  are  Radicals,  and  are  named 
"  Loco-focos "  from  a  stratagem  they  employed  at  a 
meeting  with  loco-foco  matches.  The  bulk  of  the 
wealthier  classes  may,  perhaps,  be  said  to  belong  to  the 
Conservatives,  the  body  of  the  people  to  the  moderate 
reformers,  and  the  most  violent  to  the  Radicals.  Each 
party  has  its  spouters  and  newspapers,  and  seems  to  see 
no  consistency  or  virtue  in  the  other ;  and  here,  as  in 
New  York,  the  public  profligacy  of  speech  and  writing 
is  most  flagrant  concerning  the  conduct  and  character 
of  political  chiefs  and  their  adherents.  They  are  abused, 
scandalised,  and  denounced  in  the  most  unsparing  man- 
ner. This  practice  is  so  fully  understood,  that  what  is 
spoken  in  political  meetings  or  written  in  newspapers 
carries  little  weight  with  it.  All  this  is  admitted  and 
lamented  by  observant  and  candid  Americans  with 
whom  we  have  conversed. 

The  building  in  "Washington  next  in  importance  to 
the  Capitol  is  undoubtedly  the  residence  provided  for 
the  chief  magistrate  of  the  United  States.  The  Presi- 
dent's house  stands  on  an  elevated  piece  of  ground  at 
the  other  extremity  of  the  city.  It  is  a  spacious,  good 
building,  with  Ionic  pilasters  and  rustic  basement.  In 
size  and  appearance  it  is  very  lauch  like  an  English 


ft 


WASHINGTON. 


nobleman's  seat ;  but  tbe  parallel  has  not  been  continued 
to  the  grounds  adjoining  it,  for  they  do  not  include 
twenty  acres.  There  are  some  good  government  offices 
at  the  same  end  of  the  city,  near  to  the  President's  house. 
There  is,  likewise,  between  the  city  and  the  river,  a 
large  building  of  red  sandstone,  and  of  Norman  or  early 
Gothic  architecture,  named  the  "  Smithsonian  Institute," 
with  other  collegiate,  educational,  and  scientific  institu- 
tions. The  private  buildings  in  Washington  are,  with 
few  exceptions,  poor  and  low.  Many  of  them  are  of 
wood ;  and  being  either  singly  detached  or  in  scattered 
and  isolated  groups,  they  have  a  comfortless  appearance. 
And  even  where  the  houses  are  more  continuous,  as  in 
the  principal  streets,  they  are  of  such  various  shapes  and 
heights,  as  to  present  no  satisfactory  effect.  The  shops, 
for  the  most  part,  are  small  and  slenderly  furnished,  and 
are  far  inferior  to  the  "  stores"  of  New  York  and  Phila- 
delphia. Many  parts  of  the  city  seem  to  be  just  rising 
into  existence,  and  others  falling  into  decay,  on  the 
borders  of  a  marshy  common. 

At  night  the  city,  through  its  insolvency,  it  is  said,  is 
scarcely  lighted  at  all,  and  appears  then  most  desolate. 
I  cannot  but  think  that  the  curse  of  slavery  is  upon  it. 
Here  slavery  has  its  mart,  its  auction-block,  its  dungeons, 
its  whips  and  chains,  and  its  open  profligacy.  I  could 
send  you  copies  of  advertisements  for  the  sale  of  negroes 
and  the  recovery  of  runaway  slaves  which  appear  here 
in  the  newspapers,  and  I  could  relate  to  you  several 
instances  of  the  wrongs  and  cruelty  done  to  slaves 
within  Washington  itself;  but  I  forbear  to  write  at 
length  upon  this  subject  until  I  shall  have  seen  and 
heard  more  concerning  it. 
,    There  are  about  twenty  churches  in  Washingtou 


\. 


« ( 


WASHINGTON. 


73 


tOD 


'--t 


belonging  to  different  religious  bodies.  The  Methodists 
have  in  the  city  2300  fully  accredited  members :  1000 
of  whom  belong  to  the  coloured  race.  Public  religious 
services  are  daily  held  in  the  Senate  Chamber  and  in 
the  House  of  Representatives.  The  chaplains  to  each 
house  of  Congress  are  appointed,  on  election,  by  the 
members,  and  usually  are  Methodists,  but  at  present 
there  is  one  Presbyterian  chaplain  and  one  Methodist. 
"We  heard  the  prayer  of  the  venerable  Presbyterian 
minister  in  the  Hall  of  Eepresentatives,  at  twelve  at 
noon,  when  the  proceedings  for  the  day  commenced,  and 
were  gratified.  He  prayed  very  earnestly  that  God 
would  bless  the  People's  representatives,  and  make 
them  good  and  faithful  servants  of  the  Republic. 

We  had  not  time  to  go  over  to  Georgetown,  the  other 
city  within  the  district  of  Columbia  (a  small  territory 
which  has  been  voluntarily  surrendered  by  Virginia  and 
Maryland  to  the  exclusive  government  of  Congress),  or 
to  visit  Mount  Vernon,  which  is  fifteen  miles  distant, 
and  where,  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac,  is  the  house 
and  tomb  of  Washington.  I  ought,  however,  to  have 
named  a  colossal  monument  to  the  renowned  statesman, 
goneral,  and  founder  of  this  city,  which  may  be  seen 
now  rising  between  the  President's  house  and  the 
river. 

I  must  not  fail  to  note  for  you  in  this  sheet  the 
features  and  effects  of  a  thunderstorm  which  Dr.  Hannah 
and  I  have  witnessed  in  this  place.  It  came  on  in  the 
dusk  of  the  evening.  The  clouds  gathered  black  above 
and  around  us,  the  lightnings  flashed  incessantly,  and 
the  thunder  literally  shook  the  earth  with  its  echoes. 
At  one  time  the  firmament  seemed  aU.  on  flame  around 
us,  and  then  it  appeared  to  open  and  shut  in  different 


74 


WASHINGTON. 


parts  with  fire.  The  wind  rose,  and  rushed  along  furi- 
ously, until  we  could  not  walk  in  the  streets.  It  bent 
and  split  the  trees  of  the  avenues,  and  howled  fearfully 
in  the  corners  and  among  the  chimneys  of  the  houses. 
A  few  large  pattering  drops  of  rain  fell,  and  spread 
themselves  upon  the  pavement,  and  then,  as  if  the  sky 
had  suddenly  burst,  the  water  poured  down  in  torrentsi 
and  ploughed  up  the  ground  into  deep  rugged  furrows, 
until  one  was  ready  to  imagine  that  a  second  deluge 
was  come.  While  in  New  York  we  were  caught  in  a 
rain-storm  that  seemed  to  us  overwhelming ;  it  drenched 
us  through  to  the  skin  in  a  few  minutes,  but  it  was  a 
trifle  compared  to  this  storm  in  ^*Vashington. 

I  may  just  say,  in  conclusion,  that  we  did  not  seek  an 
introduction  to  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
though  we  should  have  had  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  it. 
The  American  chief  magistrate  is  readily  accessible  to 
all  who  desire  to  see  him  or  speak  with  him.  His 
"drawing-rooms"  and  "levies"  are  open  to  all  persons, 
— even  to  the  poorest,  who  may  go  to  them  in  working- 
dress, — the  only  qualification  being  that  the  person  who 
thus  claims  admission  should  be  a  citizen  of  America. 
There  are  no  forms  or  dresses  of  state  and  ceremony 
used  either  by  the  President  or  any  member  of  the 
government.  There  are  no  livery-servants  belonging 
to  the  American  grandees ;  if  they  be  seen  here  at  all, 
they  belong  to  ambassadors  or  other  representatives 
from  foreign  states ;  and  the  President  may  walk 
through  the  streets  of  "Washington  with  almost  as  little 
observation  as  any  private  citizen. 


:i 


I 


LETTER  V. 


BALTIMORE. 


Origin  of  the  City — General  Description  of  it — American  Aristocracy- 
Coloured  Popidation— Evils  of  Slavery— 'flic  "Liberia"  Project— "  Wash- 
ington  Monnnient" — "Battle  Moniunent" — " Green Moiuit  Cemeteiy" — 
Methodist  Cemetery,  or,  "the  Mount  of  Olives" — Lnportance  of  Metho- 
dism in  Baltimore — Relics  of  Early  Methodism — Record  of  Early  La- 
bourers— Coloured  Churches  of  Methodists — Preaching  and  Memorable 
Scene  of  excitement  at  the  Airican  Methodist  Church  in  Sharpc  Street — 
Scriptural  Hopes  for  the  Emancipation  of  the  enslaved  Race. 


We  came  to  this  city  from  "Washington,  and  have  lost 
no  time  in  surveying  it,  and  getting  acquainted  with 
whatever  it  contains  of  worth  and  interest.  At  first  we 
went  to  Bamum's  Hotel,  in  Battle  Monument  Square, 
with  the  intent  to  inn  there,  but  Dr.  Roberts,  at  whose 
house  we  called  while  he  was  from  home,  followed  u '. 
and  insisted  on  our  coming  to  stay  with  him.  He  is 
both  a  doctor  in  divinity  and  a  doctor  of  laws  and  medi- 
cine, and  is  a  verv  intelligent,  hospitable,  and  pious 
gentleman.  The  mterest  he  displays  in  whatever 
belongs  to  the  antiquities  and  history  of  Methodism  is 
remarkable.  He  not  only  possesses  many  valued  relics, 
records,  and  books  of  early  Methodism,  but  has  done 
much  towards  founding  a  society  for  collecting  and  pre- 
serving such  memorials  of  the  past.     He  is  what  is 


/ 


re 


BALTIMORB. 


termed  in  America  a  "  located  minister/'  practising  in 
the  medical  profession,  and  yet  officiating  in  turn  at  the 
Methodist  churches  of  the  city,  as  well  as  holding  a 
chaplaincy  to  the  soldiers  and  the  cemetery.  Dr. 
Roberts  has  spared  no  trouble  in  showing  us  attention, 
and  has  driven  us  about  most  cheerfully  to  view  the 
principal  parts  of  the  city  and  its  objects  of  interest. 

Baltimore,  as  you  will  know,  is  the  capital  of  Mary- 
land, and,  for  population  and  commerce,  ranks  as  the 
third  city  in  the  United  States.     At  the  Census  of 
1850  it  contained  169,054  souls.     It  derives  its  name 
from  Lord  Baltimore,  the  tolerant  Roman  Catholio 
nobleman,  who,  in  the  reign  of  William  and  Mary, 
settled  here  as  a  colonist  with  his  family,  and  who  not 
only  gave  to  Protestants  the  free  exercise  of  their  con- 
sciences in  the  worship  and  service  of  God,  but  also 
acted  justly  and  generously  to  the  aboriginal  Indians, 
from  whom  he  purchased  the  lands  of  the  State.    Like 
the  other  cities  we  have  visited,  Baltimore  is  most 
favourably  situated,  standing  on  ground  that  rises,  some 
150  feet  to  its  crown,  from  an  extended  bay  of  the 
Fatapsco  River,  which,  at  the  distance  from  hence  of 
200  miles,  passes  by  the  Chesapeake  into  the  open 
Atlantic.     In  general  appearance,  as  beheld  in  the 
approach  to  it,  the  town,  rising  up  from  the  water, 
reminds  one  of  the  views  given  of  Constantinople ;  and 
there  are  several  domes,  tall,  slender  monuments,  and  , 
minaret-like  forms,  that  materially  contribute  to  this 
resemblance.    In  trade  and  exports  of  flour  and  tobacco, 
it  is  among  the  busiest  cities  of  this  western  world ;  and 
its  numerous  shipping,  seen  fringing  the  water's  edge^ 
adds  to  the  general  e£Pect  of  the  panorama. 

"Baltimore  Street,"  which  runs  from  east  to  west  " 


i  < 


BALTIMORE. 


n 


and 
this 

kCCO, 


through  the  middle  of  the  town,  and  is  about  two  miles 
long,  is  the  great  thoroughfare  both  for  trade  and  pro- 
menade.  It  is  a  good  wide  street,  having  in  it  many 
substantial  and  well-stocked  warehouses  and  stores.  The 
most  fashionable  quarter  of  the  town  is  on  the  high 
ground  at  the  north  side.  Here  are  many  fine  build- 
ings, both  public  and  private ;  and  the  well-built  brick 
houses,  with  granite  or  white  marble  steps  and  porticoes — 
the  silvered  and  polished  door-handles,  knockers,  and 
bell-pulls — the  ornamental  railings  and  balustrades — 
and  the  clean  and  pretty  grass-plots,  render  this  quarter 
equal  to  the  finest  parts  of  Philadelphia ;  while  there  is 
less  of  sameness  in  the  general  efiect  than  there  is  in 
the  flat  Quaker  city.  This  quarter,  indeed,  may  more 
properly  be  styled  "aristocratic"  than  anything  we 
have  yet  seen  in  America.  There  is  an  air  of  real 
refinement  in  its  society.  The  ladies,  in  their  walks 
and  rides,  have  a  delicacy  in  their  dress  and  equipage 
that  tells  assuredly  of  cultivated  taste.  They  are  re- 
markable for  gracefulness;  and  a  "Baltimore  beauty" 
is  a  proverbial  phrase,  the  fitness  of  which  seems  to  be 
generally  acknowledged.  The  original  colonists  here 
were  English  and  French  gentry,  many  of  them  being 
persons  of  superior  education  and  manners,  and  the  stamp 
of  refinement  seems  never  to  have  been  lost.  I  may  just 
observe  that  we  have  already  found  there  is  real  self- 
congratulation  among  the  Aiaericans  when  their  descent 
can  be  clearly  traced  from  good  English  families. 

The  coloured  persons  in  this  city  are  numerous, 
amounting,  it  is  said,  to  one-fourth  of  the  entire  popu- 
lation. Three-fourths  of  these  are  reported  as  "  free ; " 
and,  from  the  dress  and  style  of  some  of  them,  it  is  evi- 
dent they  experience  no  scarcity  of  means  for  comfort- 


78 


BALTIMORB. 


able  and  oven  sumptuous  living.  Tho  slaves  are  chiefly 
domestic  and  hired-out  labourers.  Some  of  these  appear 
to  be  well  provided  for,  and  seem  to  be  cheerful  and 
contented  in  their  situations.  There  is  much  of  the 
picturesque  in  the  figures  of  the  female  slaves  here,  as 
they  are  seen  cleaning  the  steps  and  door-handles  of  tho 
best  houses,  their  black  but  comely  arms  and  faces  con- 
trasting richly  with  their  coloured  turban-handker- 
chiefs and  body-dresses,  and  with  the  white  marble 
steps  and  porticoes ;  and  the  black  coachmen  and  foot- 
men associated  with  the  fine  horses  and  rich  silver  or- 
naments of  the  carriages  produce  a  stately  effect. 

But  in  the  lower  parts  of  the  city,  and  in  the  out- 
skirts, there  are  many  negroes  who  are  very  coarse  and 
very  wretched  in  their  looks — many  that  seem  as  if 
they  had  abandoned  themselves  hopelessly  to  degrada- 
tion, and  who  live  in  filth  and  misery  the  most  deplor- 
able. Their  dwellings  seem  like  dens  of  darkness  and 
desolation ;  and  their  children,  of  either  sex,  with  their 
rough  woolly  heads,  run  in  and  out  of  them  utterly  un- 
clothed. Surely  slavery,  wherever  it  exists,  exhibits, 
even  under  the  most  favourable  circumstances,  its  own 
brand  of  wrong  and  wretchedness.  And  what  is  it 
here,  in  this  refined  and  genteel  city,  compared  with 
what  it  is  in  the  field,  and  on  the  cotton  and  tobacco 
grounds,  where  men  and  women  are  driven  along  in 
their  allotted  labour  by  the  whip,  and  are  exposed  to 
every  injury  and  insult  of  passionate  and  depraved 
owners  and  drivers. 

All  whom  I  have  hitherto  conversed  with  in  the 
States  on  this  subject  deplore  the  great  evil  of  slavery. 
The  intelligent  and  benevolent  men  of  this  city  express 
themselves  as  being  ashamed  of  it,  and  seem  very  earnest 


i  i 


BALTIMORE. 


79 


in  their  desire  to  get  rid  of  it  as  soon  as  practicable.  It 
is  in  Baltimore  that  the  most  strenuous  efforts  have  been 
made  to  establish  Liberia — the  colony  on  the  coast  of 
Africa  to  which  it  is  aiaied  to  transmit  coloured  people 
when  set  free  in  America.  Some  may  question  the 
propriety  of  encouraging  this  scheme.  It  may  be  urged 
that  the  strong  antipathy  to  the  dark  race,  which  seeks 
the  entire  removal  of  it  from  American  soil,  should  not 
be  fostered.  And  others  may  question  the  justice  of 
such  a  measure,  sinco  the  negroes  and  their  mulatto 
children,  bom  on  American  ground,  seem  to  have  as 
great  a  natural  right  to  live  and  continue  there  an  the 
white  descendants  of  emigrants  from  foreign  lands ;  yet 
it  is  beyond  a  doubt  that  many  who  strive  to  maintain 
this  Liberia  project  are  impelled  by  the  earnest  pity  and 
benevolence  of  their  honest  hearts. 

Among  the  more  modern  churches  there  are  some 
good  buildings  in  Baltimore.  The  Roman  Catholic 
Cathedral  and  the  Unitarian  Church  are  highly  spoken 
of  by  some ;  but  though  they  are  prominent  objects  by 
their  size,  and  by  the  domes  with  which  they  are  sur- 
mounted, yet  they  are  not  consistent  or  good  in  their 
architectural  style,  and  are  unattractive  when  compared 
with  the  cathedrals  and  churches  of  celebrity  in  Europe. 
There  are  two  monuments  of  some  pretension  in  this 
"  City  of  Monuments,"  as  it  has  been  called.  One,  the 
"Washington  Monument,"  is  a  Doric  column,  with 
pedestal  and  figure,  180  feet  high,  all  of  white  marble, 
and  in  form  is  not  much  unlike  the  Duke  of  York's 
Column,  on  the  old  site  of  Carlton  House,  London.  This 
monument  stands  on  the  very  crown  of  the  northern  or 
best  part  of  the  city,  and  is  a  pleasing  object.  The 
view  from  the  top  of  this  high  monument  is  very  exten- 


80 


BALTIMORE. 


sive.  Dr.  Hannah  and  I  climbed  the  200  steps,  and 
felt  ourselves  well  rewarded  for  the  labour.  The  town, 
with  its  streets,  buildings,  quays,  and  shipping,  is  spread 
out  in  its  full  length  and  breadth  before  you ;  while  the 
river  at  its  verge  may  be  seen  extending  towards  the 
sea.  The  figure  of  "Washington,  by  Cansici,  an  Italian 
sculptor,  is  J  6  feet  high,  and  represents  the  general 
at  the  interesting  moment  when,  after  settled  victory, 
he  voluntarily  resigned  his  command  to  retire  into 
private  life.  The  veneration  for  Washington  in  the  States 
is  unboimded,.  He  is  undoubtedly  the  national  idol; 
his  name,  acts,  and  sayings  still  govern  the  Americana  • 
and  perhaps  of  all  hero-worship  among  nations,  there 
is  none  existing  which  is  more  signal  or  manifest  than 
that  of  Washington  among  this  people.  There  is  wide 
difference  of  opinion  respecting  other  early  presidents 
and  statesmen — such  as  Jefferson  and  Adams — but  none 
as  to  Washington.  Every  American  holds  him  to  have 
been  a  great,  pure-souled,  disinterested  man,  and  seems 
to  regard  him  as  the  true  heau  ideal  of  a  patriot. 

The  "  Battle  Monument,"  intended  to  perpetuate  the 
memory  of  the  men  who  fell  in  the  several  battles 
fought  during  the  struggle  for  Independence  is  less  satis- 
factory than  the  monument  to  the  nation's  founder.  It 
is  an  odd  and  incongruous  combination  of  an  Egyptian 
spreading  pedestal  with  a  Roman '  column  of  arrows 
and  bands ;  it  is  62  feet  high,  of  white  marble,  and  has 
on  its  top  a  female  figure,  emblematic  of  the  city  of 
Baltimore. 

The  cemeteries  in  the  suburbs  of  Baltimore  are,  I 
think,  the  most  lovely  and  interesting  places  of  the 
kind  I  have  ever  visited.  I  have  seen  nothing  equal  to 
them  in  England  or  elsewhere.     The  "Green  Mount 


BALTIMORE. 


81 


i 


Cemetery,"  north-west  of  the  town,  is  highly  rich  and 
beautiful  in  its  undulating  ground,  and  fresh  green 
graceful  trees  and  tasteful  shrubbery.  Mingled  with 
other  trees  of  fine,  broad,  spreading  foliage  are  cedars 
and  pines ;  while  under  and  around  them  are  countless 
tombs,  obelisks,  columns,  and  gravestones,  nearly  all  of 
white  marble,  and  bearing  inscriptions  for  the  dead 
whose  bodily  remains  have  been  interred  beneath  them. 
Many  of  these  monuments  are  very  chaste  and  beautiful 
in  form,  and  the  devices  and  inscriptions  upon  them  are 
affecting.  One,  for  a  departed  youth,  is  an  open  Bible 
on  a  pedestal,  with  a  broken  flower  resting  on  the  second 
verse  of  the  14th  chapter  in  the  Book  of  Job — "He 
Cometh  forth  like  a  flower,  and  is  cut  down."  On  others 
are  the  names  of  the  parties  erecting  the  memorial, 
under  the  words,  "  In  memory  of  our  beloved  mother," 
or,  "  In  memory  of  my  beloved  wife."  I  observed,  also, 
that  not  only  have  families  plots  of  ground  railed  in  for 
themselves,  but  that  within  them,  besides  the  grave- 
stones with  inscriptions  for  deceased  wife  and  child,  the 
living  widower  and  father's  own  resting-place  was  pro- 
vided, the  inscription,  of  course,  omitting  the  date  of 
his  death  and  the  record  of  his  age.  What  a  locality 
for  a  man  to  visit,  and  in  which  to  meditate  on  his  own 
frailty  and  mortality ! 

The  other  cemetery,  which  is  north-east  of  the  city, 
is  exclusively  devoted  to  the  Methodists,  and  is  named 
**  The  Mount  of  Olives."  It  is  not  so  fine  in  trees  and 
shrubbery  as  Green  Mount;  but  it,  too,  with  its  numerous 
white  marble  monuments,  is  a  most  interesting  place. 
It  was  first  opened  in  1846,  and  contains  already  more 
than  1000  bodies.  The  remains  of  Bishops  Asbury, 
Emory,  and  George  have  been  brought  here,  and  are 

o 


{It 


82 


BALTIMORE. 


enclosed  within  a  large  square,  where  a  suitable  monu- 
ment is  to  be  erected  for  them.  "We  lingered  on  this 
ground,  where  rest  the  bodies  of  so  many  of  "  the  dead 
who  died  in  the  Lord,"  until  the  sun  went  down  in  his 
American  golden  glory,  and  until  the  grey  twilight 
gathered  and  thickened  around  us,  and  made  us  the 
subjects  of  solemn  reflections  and  of  deep  feeling. 

The  Methodists  have  a  very  prominent  and  honourable 
rank  among  the  Protestant  denominations  of  Baltimore, 
— they  are,  in  fact,  foremost  both  in  numbers  and 
influence.  They  number  forty-three  churches  and 
chapels ;  five  of  these  being  for  the  coloured  race,  and 
two  for  the  Germans.  Gospel  teaching  is  supplied  in 
these  churches  by  thirty  stated  ministers  and  seventy 
local  preachers,  of  whom  twenty-two  are  coloured  free- 
men, ten  of  them  having  been  ordained.  The  number 
of  full  church  members  in  Baltimore  is  more  than  13,000, 
3730  of  them  being  coloured  persons.  Some  of  the 
churches  are  highly  interesting  by  their  associations 
with  the  earlier  scenes  of  Methodism.  At  the  back  of 
one  of  these  churches,  named  "  Light  Street  Church," 
is  an  upper  room  in  which  several  of  the  first  and 
most  important  conferences  and  meetings  of  Methodism 
were  held,  and  which  were  presided  over  by  Dr.  Coke 
and  Francis  Asbury.  It  is  a  square,  low-ceiled  room, 
plainly  furnished,  and  still  preserved  in  its  primitive 
style  of  arrangement  and  fittings.  While  in  it,  and 
looking  upon  its  rough,  heavy  furniture,  on  a  could  not 
but  picture  the  scenes  of  seventy  or  eiglity  years  ago, 
when  the  few  veteran  labourers  for  Christ,  with  earnest 
hearts,  but  with  faces  and  clothes  worn  in  the  wilder- 
ness, met  there  to  deliberate  on  the  spiritual  wants  of 
the  new  continent,  and  how  best  to  provide  for  them. 


«-     * 


BALTIMORE. 


83 


"What  a  glorioue  ork  has  God  wrought  in  this  land 
since  their  time !  But  perhaps  it  is  no  greater  than 
the  devout  confidence  of  such  earnest  and  truly  apostolic 
labourers  anticipated. 

Baltimore  must  always  be  viewed  as  one  of  the  chief 
centres  from  which  Methodism  first  radiated,  and  from 
which  it  has  continued  to  extend  and  spread  until  it  has 
well-nigh  covered  the  land.  Here  the  apostolic  Asbury 
had  his  appointed  station  from  the  first  conference,  and 
from  hence  he  took  his  long  pilgrimages  for  preaching 
the  Gospel  in  the  surrounding  parts  of  the  country. 
Here,  in  his  day,  and  repeatedly  since,  have  been  expe- 
rienced overpowering  seasons  of  grace  and  salvation. 
Within  twenty-one  miles  of  this  place  Dr.  Coke  and  his 
friends  sought  to  establish  the  first  colleges  and  semi- 
naries for  the  youth  of  Methodism ;  and  though  these 
first  efforts  were  singularly  frustrated  by  successive  fires, 
which  consumed  the  buildings  erected  at  great  cost  and 
sacrifice,  yet,  from  their  ashes,  so  to  speak,  have  arisen 
the  establishments  for  learning  which  Methodism  has, 
since  then,  so  numerously  spread  over  the  northern  part 
of  this  great  continent.  Here,  too,  the  "  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  "  of  America  was  first  organised  into 
a  distinct  and  separate  system  of  agency  for  spreading 
evangelical  holiness  and  truth  through  the  land,  when, 
instead  of  being  a  number  of  societies  from  other 
churches,  it  became  a  church  for  itself :  and  it  was  here 
that  the  general  conference  of  that  church  was  first  held, 
and  which  has  adjourned  its  sessions,  quadrennially, 
from  that  time  to  the  present,  assembling  in  different 
places,  as  most  convenient.  Dr.  Hannah  was  here  at 
the  general  conference  of  1824  with  the  venerable 
Richard  Reece.     Here,  too,  the  manly  and  eloquent 


84 


BALTIMORE. 


I 


H 


I  [ 


Robert  Newton  attended  the  general  conference  of  1840, 
and  preached  to  listening  and  delighted  thousands 
within  the  churches  and  open  squares,  the  "  glorious 
Gospel  of  the  blessed  God."  So  that,  to  a  Methodist 
visitor,  Baltimore  is  a  place  of  strong  and  accumulated 
interest.  But,  to  me,  the  most  interesting  spectacles 
within  this  city  have  been  the  Methodist  churches  of 
black  and  coloured  members.  It  would  be  difficult  for 
me  to  say  fully  how  it  is,  but  I  have  felt  an  intense 
interest  in  the  coloured  people  of  this  continent.  Perhaps 
this  may  be  accounted  for  in  some  degree  by  the  novelty 
of  what  I  have  witnessed.  It  is  uncommon  to  English 
eyes  to  see  large  numbers  of  such  people ;  and  they  are 
chiefly  associated  in  the  mind  with  suffering  and  injury. 
One  unavoidably  connects  the  sight  of  them  with  the 
sense  of  a  gigantic  wrong.  This  feeling  had  strengthened 
in  the  course  of  our  journey,  and  especially  from  what  I 
had  seen  and  thought  in  "Washington,  until,  when  I  came 
here,  I  felt  that  if  it  were  only  for  the  relief  of  my  own 
burthen  of  accumulated  feeling,  I  must  preach  to  the 
poor,  wronged  race.  Thus  it  arose  that,  when  informed 
of  the  arrangements  made  prospectively  for  Dr.  Hannah 
and  myself  as  to  Sabbath  services,  I  preferred  a  request 
to  be  allowed  to  preach  in  the  evening  in  one  of  the 
churches  of  the  coloured  people.  This  gave  rise  to  some 
passing  difficulty,  owing  to  the  previous  announcement 
concerning  our  services,  and  so  what  I  desired  was,  at  first, 
received  with  some  remonstrance ;  but  I  continued  to 
urge  my  request,  placing  myself  entirely  at  the  disposal 
of  ministers  and  friends  for  the  other  parts  of  the  day ; 
and  at  length  the  African  church  in  *•  Sharp  Street " 
was  assigned  to  me.  In  the  morning  I  preached  to  a 
large  and  respectable  congregation  in  "  Caroline  Street" 


•   ...J 


BALTIMORE. 


85 


Chiurch.  Dr.  Hannah  preached  twic3  to  large  and 
delighted  congregations — many  of  his  former  friends 
crowding  to  hear  him  again. 

My  Sabbath-evening  work  was  the  most  intensely 
inspiring  and  exhausting  service  in  which  I  ever 
partook.  The  large  church  was  filled  to  overflowing 
some  time  before  I  arrived  there,  and  I  had  difficulty 
in  making  my  way  to  the  pulpit.  Some  said  there 
were  2000  coloured  persons  in  and  about  the  building ; 
but  assembled  multitudes  are  usually  over  estimated,  and 
I  should  say  it  was  so  in  this  instance.  It  would  have 
been  very  difficult  to  number  them,  for  they  were  jammed 
together  in  every  part,  and  that  irrespective  of  passages, 
pews,  and  sittings.  There  is  a  gallery  on  three  sides  of 
the  church,  which  is  appropriated  to  the  class  of  free 
negroes — persons  who  afe  in,  what  we  call  in  England, 
easy  circumstances.  The  floor  was  principally  covered 
with  common  seats  and  benches.  "Within  the  commimion 
rails  sat  some  twenty  black,  woolly-headed  class-leaders 
and  local  preachers.  These  were  fine,  intelligent-looking 
men,  neatly  dressed  in  black  clothes,  and  wearing  plain 
white  Methodist  cravats.  The  spectacle,  altogether,  was 
most  impressive.  Some  of  the  free  negroes  in  the  gallery 
were  not  only  well,  but  handsomely  dressed — white  silk 
shawls,  white  gauze  and  silk  bonnets,  white  kid  gloves, 
and  white  fans,  were  plentiful  among  the  dark  females. 
The  coloured  people  seem  to  be  fond  of  white  dress,  and 
no  wonder,  for,  great  as  may  be  the  contrast  between 
their  complexions  and  their  white  caps  and  bonnets,  yet, 
if  such  portions  of  their  dress  were  black,  how  sombre 
and  unpleasing  would  bo  the  efiect !  Some  of  the  men 
in  the  gallery  were  dressed  in  handsome  blue  and  black 
clothing,  associated  with  a  very  large  amount  of  white 


""''-  ■    ,.    .'""^'.TT'    'i:''^-r 


B6 


SALTIMORE. 


shirt-collars,  fronts,  and  wristbands.  The  congregation 
below  was  more  neatly  dressed — some  of  the  females  had 
blue,  red,  and  orange-coloured  handkerchiefs  gracefully- 
folded  upon  their  heads  into  African  turbans,  but  were 
plainly  and  coarsely  clad  in  their  body  garments.  The 
men,  too,  on  the  ground -floor  were  plainly,  and,  in  some 
instances,  roughly  clothed.  Many  of  these  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  church  were  slaves.  The  place,  crowded  and 
filled  in  every  part,  became  most  oppressively  hot,  and 
the  perspiration  ran  down  the  faces  of  the  people  most 
profusely,  and  made  them  shine  like  polished  ebony. 
For  that  phrase  of  quaint  old  Thomas  Fuller's — "  God's 
images  carved  in  ebony" — so  aptly  descriptive  of  the 
coloured  race,  came  irresistibly  to  my  remembrance  as  I 
looked  upon  the  dark,  shining  mass  of  human  beings 
before  me.  There  were  not  more  than  half-a-dozen 
white  persons  within  the  church,  and  they  were  chiefly 
ministers  on  their  way  to  the  General  Conference, — for 
the  whites  of  the  churches  in  America  do  not  mingle 
and  worship  with  the  blacks,  even  when  visited  by  an 
English  minister,  whom,  perhaps,  they  flock  in  crowds 
to  hear  when  he  preaches  in  a  church  not  set  apart  for 
the  African  race.  The  strong  effluvia  emitted  by  the 
heated  bodies  of  the  negroes  may,  to  some  extent,  account 
for  this  separation,  but  not  wholly.  No  doubt  the 
degradation  so  long  associated  with  the  coloured  people 
has  much  to  do  with  it.  We  commenced  the  service  by 
singing, — and  such  singing,  I  may  confidently  say,  I 
never  heard  before.  I  do  not  mean  as  to  correctness 
and  order,  but  for  its  soft,  plaintive  melody,  and  its 
thrilling  effect  upon  me.  They  sang  in  their  several 
parts,  for  the  choir  was  all  duly  arranged  in  the  gallery 
in  front  of  us.     It  was  led  by  a  female,  who  had  a  sin- 


/ 


BALTIMORE. 


87 


gularly  clear,  firm,  and  powerful  voice.  A  band  of  dark 
sisters  accompanied  her  in  the  air;  a  brotherhood  of 
manly  and  mellow  voices  joined  in  the  tenor ;  another 
company,  in  the  purest  tones,  pealed  the  counter ;  while 
a  larger  division  of  huge,  brawny  black  men  rolled  forth 
a  mass  of  bass  sounds,  that  one  might  have  called 
"  human  thunder  "  almost  without  hyperbole ;  and  all 
the  congregation  joined  the  choir  in  singing.  The  choir 
did  not  sing  to  the  congregation,  or /or  it — as  is  too  often 
the  case  in  congregations — but  with  it ;  and  there  is  a 
soft,  mellowing,  and  harmonising  effect  in  the  African 
singing  that  seems  peculiar  to  itself.  At  prayer  all 
seemed  to  be  most  reverent  and  devout,  there  seemed  to 
be  no  irreverence,  either  in  posture  or  sound,  and  there 
were  times  when  "  all  the  people  said,  Amen ! "  I  preached 
to  them  on  the  freeness  and  fulness  of  God's  salvation,  as 
set  forth  in  the  invitation  given  by  Christ  to  the  poor, 
the  maimed,  the  halt,  and  the  blind,  especially  applying 
to  them  the  direction  given  concerning  the  treatment 
of  the  unsheltered  outcasts  of  human  society,  who  are 
represented  as  in  the  "  highways  and  hedges."  I  im- 
posed restraint  upon  myself  for  a  time,  finding  that  the 
very  sight  of  the  dark  congregation,  together  with 
associations  in  my  mind  of  their  injured  and  degraded 
race,  filled  me  with  strong  emotion;  and  the  people, 
from  warnings  and  counsels  previously  given  to  them,  I 
believe,  also  restrained  their  feeling  for  a  while.  But, 
oh!  those  black,  beaming  faces — those  upturned  and 
imploringly  soft,  dark  eyes — those  eager,  devout,  and 
rapturous  looks, — were  too  much  for  me,  and  the  bonds 
of  self-restraint,  both  with  preacher  and  people,  began 
to  slacken  ;  and  when  at  length  praiseful  exclamations 
arose  from  diflferent  parts  of  the  congregation, — such  as 


■■»,. 


88 


BALTIMORE. 


"  Blessed  be  de  name  of  Jesus  ! "  "  Glory  to  de  Lamb ! " 
"  Hallelujah  ! " — I  could  restrain  myself  no  longer,  but, 
from  an  overflowing  heart,  preached  to  them  the  Gospel 
of  the  Son  of  God.  The  effect  was  striking — the  people 
wept  and  laughed,  clapped  their  hands  like  children, 
shouted,  and  even  leaped  up  and  danced  for  joy.  The 
description  of  Israel  at  the  turning  of  their  captivity 
might  be  quoted  to  represent  the  rejoicing  negro  con- 
gregation of  that  night :  they  were  like  men  who 
dreamed ;  their  mouth  was  filled  with  laughter,  and 
their  tongue  with  singing ;  yea,  "  the  floods "  of  the 
assembled  people  "  lifted  up  their  voice  "  and  "  clapped 
their  hands."  The  whole  mass  of  dark  worshippers 
bowed  and  waved  to  and  fro  like  a  field  of  ripe  corn 
before  the  wind  ;  and,  at  length,  clearing  spaces  around 
them,  some  of  them  leaped  up  from  the  ground  and 
swung  themselves  round,  literally  "  dancing  before  the 
Lord."  You  will  hardly  comprehend  this,  but  such  was 
the  child-like  simplicity  and  devout  fervency  that  marked 
this  singular  scene,  that  it  produced  no  confusion  in  the 
service  whatever.  After  the  sermon  we  made  a  col- 
lection ;  and  it  was  the  second  during  the  service, — for 
the  African  Methodists  are  not  willing  to  appear  before 
the  Lord  empty, — we  had  made  one  before  for  the  grave- 
yard belonging  to  the  African  church ;  and  this  second 
contribution  was  for  the  support  of  the  ministry.  Then 
we  sang  and  prayed  again ;  and  then,  before  the  con- 
clusion, the  choir  sang  some  of  their  own  African 
pieces.  One  piece  was  on  "  Canaan,  bright  Canaan," 
and  another  was  on  "  Praise  to  the  Lord,"  and  some  of 
the  parts  in  these  had  very  beautiful  passages.  One 
female  voice  took  a  solo,  in  one  piece,  and  the  voice 
soared  and  rang  as  if  it  were  the  voice  of  a  rapt  seraph 


BALTIMORE. 


89 


con~ 


}> 


singing  alone  in  the  ecstatic  audience  of  angels.  The 
minister  in  charge,  with  myself,  tried  to  dismiss  the 
congregation,  but  they  would  not  separate,  or,  if  some 
went  out,  others  came  in  and  began  also  to  sing  and 
shout  the  praises  of  Qod,  so  that  the  place  remained 
filled  to  a  late  hour.  After  a  time,  I  pushed  my  way 
towards  the  door ;  but  the  blacks  crowded  around  me, 
and  I  made  but  little  progress.  Numbers  of  dark, 
perspiring  hands  were  thrust  forth  towards  me,  accom- 
panied with  the  words,  "  Bless  you,  English  massa !  '* 
and  "  Bless  de  Great  Massa  above  ! "  others  said,  *'  He 
send  de  Word  home  to  de  heart ! " 

At  length  I  gained  the  door,  and,  at  something  after 
ten  o'clock,  reached  Dr.  Roberts',  where,  after  family 
worship,  I  retired,  with  Dr.  Hannah,  to  bed,  glad  of  the 
opportunity  to  speak,  with  one  so  congenial  in  thought 
and  feeling,  upon  the  Sabbath  and  its  services.  I  did 
not  sleep  at  all  through  the  night,  but  passed  the  wake- 
ful hours  upon  my  bed,  with  joyful  feelings  and  reflec- 
tions, exultantly  exclaiming,  "  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
is  upon  me,  because  He  hath  anointed  me  to  preach  the 
Gospel  to  the  poor.  He  hath  sent  me  to  heal  the  broken- 
hearted, to  preach  deliverance  to  the  captives,  and  re- 
covering of  sight  to  the  blind,  to  set  at  liberty  them 
that  are  bruised,  to  preach  the  acceptable  year  of  the 
Lord." 

I  can  now  fully  appreciate  the  opinion  expressed,  I 
believe,  by  Miss  Bremer  with  regard  to  African  churches, 
viz.,  that  it  is  not  unlikely  God  will  ultimately  raise  up 
from  them.  His  long-oppressed  and  down-trodden  chil- 
dren, model  churches  for  the  world;  for,  certainly,  if 
religion  be  love,  and  if  simplicity,  devoutness,  patience, 
meekness,  humility,  and  fervency  be  the  distinguishing 


■•fW-*^ 


»».;!',  _  .''Jj'!fj*'t>frv':V,'''.jT^ 


'■    .»MMI'<Ji|ll|,M.H*i. 


90 


BALTIMORE. 


attributes  of  Christ's  own  religion,  then  these  are  to  be 
found  in  African  churches  in  all  possible  perfection.  In 
them  the  Book  o  the  Canticles,  that  *'  song  of  songs  " 
(which,  when  men's  hearts  shall  be  purified  from  car- 
nality, will  be  found  to  be  a  precious  vehicle  of  spiritually 
loving  thought  and  expression),  seemed  to  be  beautifully 
fulfilled  and  illustrated.  They  are  sick  of  love  for 
Christ,  their  Saviour  and  spouse,  and  they  seek  him 
most  earnestly  and  perseveringly  in  the  streets  and 
ordinances  of  the  Gospel  city,  that  new  Jerusalem  which 
has  come  down  from  God  out  of  heaven.  It  cannot  bo 
that  this  poor,  suffering,  and  long-oppressed  race,  the 
prey  of  all  nations,  shall  have  no  recompence  from  a 
God  who  judgeth  upon  the  earth.  Their  cry,  from  the 
slave-ship,  from  the  auction-mart,  from  the  dungeon, 
from  the  field  where  they  have  toiled  in  chain-gangs, 
and  under  the  whips  that  ploughed  long  furrows  in 
their  backs,  has  already  entered  into  the  ears  of  the 
Lord  God  of  Sabaoth ;  and  He  who,  when  a  young  child, 
went  down  into  Egypt,  where  Joseph,  and  Moses,  and 
enslaved  Israel  had  wept,  and  suffered,  and  prayed,  and 
who  had  his  cross  borne  for  him  up  the  rugged  mount 
of  Calvary  by  Simon,  the  black  man  of  Cyrene,  shall 
ultimately  deliver  and  avenge  them.  Under  His  peace- 
ful and  millennial  reign,  the  hostile  nature  of  black  and 
white  races  of  men  shall  be  reconciled,  while  the  savage 
natures  of  men-stealers  and  slave-traders  shall  be  rege- 
nerated and  subdued.  Then  shall  "  the  wolf  dwell  with 
the  lamb,  and  the  leopard  lie  down  with  the  kid ;  the 
calf,  and  the  young  lion,  and  the  fatling  together,  and 
a  little  child  shall  lead  them ;  the  cow  and  the  bear 
shall  feed  together,  their  young  ones  lie  down  together, 
and  the  lion  eat  straw  like  the  ox;  and  the  sucking 


BALTIMORB. 


91 


>» 


child  shall  play  on  the  hole  of  the  asp,  and  the  weaned 
child  shall  put  his  hand  on  the  cockatrice'  den :  they 
shall  not  hurt  or  destroy  in  all  my  holy  mountain,  saith 
the  Lord:"  and  then  shall  Africa,  freed  from  her 
chains,  sit  rejoicing  in  her  love  to  Christ,  "  under  her 
own  vine  and  fig-tree,"  no  roan-stealer  "  daring  to  make 
her  afraid."  "  Ethiopia  shall  stretch  out  her  hand  unto 
God!" 


\  I 


LETTER  VI. 


THE  ALLEGHANY  MOUNTALNS.— CINCINNATL 


Riiilwny  from  Bidtiinorc  to  Cumberland — Coiiii)aiiy  of  Methodist  Ministers— 
The  River  Potomac — Town  of  Cumberhuid — Hotel  Customs,  and  Iced 
Water — Strikini^  View  from  the  Hill  above  Cumberland — llailwoy  over 
the  AUejihanies — Character  of  the  Scenery — Town  of  Wheeling — Policy 
which  dictated  the  Formation  of  the  Great  Railway  to  the  West — Namea 
of  American  Towns — Free  State  of  Ohio — The  Located  Minister — Horror* 
of  Slavery— The  Ohio  River — Kentucky  left  behind — Arrivid  at  Ciu- 
cinuati. 


I  MUST  now  describe  to  you  our  journey  from  Baltimore 
over  the  great  Alleghany  Mourlnins,  by  tho  bright  Ohio 
River,  Cincinnati, — the  "  Queen  City  of  the  West," — 
and  over  rich  prairie  and  I'orest  lands,  on  to  this  "  City 
of  Kailroads,"  as  it  is  called,  Indianapolis. 

We  left  Baltimore  by  an  early  morning  train,  that 
we  might  have  as  much  of  the  daylight  as  possible 
whrl.'>  travelling  on  the  Ohio  Railway.  In  the  cars  we 
had  Vf'ith  us  for  companions  several  Methodist  delegates, 
who,  like  ourselves,  were  on  the  way  to  this  p'uvf?  lor 
the  General  Conference.  Thcj  were  intelligert,  wd' 
informed  ministers,  strong  haters  of  slavciy,  ana 
thoroughly  unreserved  in  speaking  their  sentiments  on 
what  they  had  seen  and  learned  of  that  abominable 
system.     Ti  ome  of  them  were  of  English  birth  and  edu- 


«-?.-.r.^>-;.-  - 


Ministers — 
18,  nnd  Iced 
Railway  over 
liii^ — Policy 
est — Names 
IT — Horrors 
vvi  at  Ciu- 


altimore 
ght  Ohio 
rest,"— 
is  "  City 

lin,  that 

possible 

cars  we 

Blegates, 

'Tiu'.f?  for 


'j> 


dna 


lents  on 
minable 
nd  edu- 


TIIB  ALLEGHANY  M0UNTAIN8.-CINCINNATI. 


93 


cation,  nnd  wore  thus  wholly  free  from  American  pro- 
judioob  concerning  African  colour  and  cwif<^  Wo  had, 
therefore,  considerable  advantatre  in  our  nompAnionships 
during  a  long  and  toilsome  joumoy,  ami  nad  not  only 
relief  and  interest  arising  from  them,  but  also  instrur*- 
tion  and  profit.  The  first  day  wus  very  cIoh^  nnd 
oppressive,  and  we  both  saw  and  felt  some  reason  for 
certain  Uglit-ooloured — and,  to  our  English  eyes,  rather 
unr'<V'K*jri  il — clothing  which  some  of  our  American 
Ir'^'tbron  w  >re. 

0  .'  fii'si  f.wo  days  were  spent  in  passing  along  the 
marginal  of  th^  Slave  States  of  Maryland  and  Virginia ; 
and  in  our  course  wt  saw  slaves  working  in  the  fields, 
and  serving  within  and  outside  of  refreshment-rooms, 
and  of  private  houses.  To  our  thinking,  most  of  them 
wore  a  dejected  and  sorrowful  look  ;  and  here,  again,  in 
the  loose  and  rude  manner  in  which  some  of  the  land 
was  cultivated,  we  believed  we  saw  signs  of  what  has 
often  been  asserted  in  print,  and  of  what  was  stoutly 
maintained  by  several  of  our  companions,  that  slave- 
labour  is  not  really  profitable  to  its  owners.  !Many  of 
the  slaves  appeared  as  if  they  were  destitute  of  sufficient 
motive  for  exertion,  since  they  seemed  both  to  work  and 
to  wait  lazily. 

The  scenery  improved  upon  us  as  we  advanced  into 
the  country.  At  first  it  was  rather  flat  and  tame,  but 
after  a  time  it  began  to  resemble,  in  its  hills  and  dales, 
some  parts  of  Derbyshire  and  of  the  English  lake  dis- 
trict. At  many  different  points  we  saw  and  crossed  the 
Potomac  River,  which  separates  the  States  of  Maryland 
and  Virginia,  and  which  is  more  than  500  miles  long, 
from  its  mouth  of  seven  and  a  half  miles  wide  at  Chesa- 
peake Bay.     This  nohlo  river  bends  greatly  and  fre- 


94 


THE  ALLEGHANY  MOUNTAINS— CINCINNATI. 


quently  in  its  course,  and  varies  much  in  the  aspect 
under  which  it  is  seen  by  the  traveller  through  the 
valley  along  which  it  flows.  Here  it  will  be  seen 
rolling  tumultuously  over  a  wide  and  broken  bed,  and 
there  lingering  in  deep  gorges  and  dark  pools;  now 
brawling  amidst  fragments  of  rocks  and  huge  boulders, 
and  then  it  will  present  a  comparatively  calm  sheet  of 
water,  pleasingly  dotted  with  small  islands  clothed  with 
trees  and  shrubs.  The  Potomac  is  said  to  have  in  it 
abundance  of  fish,  particularly  of  the  white  shad,  the 
herring,  and  the  sturgeon.  The  last-named  fish  is  often 
found  of  immense  size,  weighing  as  much  as  100  lbs., 
and  is  seen  taking  enormous  leaps  at  falls  and  cascades. 
The  white  shad  is  a  flat  fish  of  good  substance  and 
flavour,  and  is  not  much  unlike  the  sole,  so  well  known 
and  esteemed  in  England.  The  shad  is  a  favourite  dish 
at  an  American  table.  The  Potomac  is  also  frequented 
at  certain  seasons  by  troops  of  wild  swans  and  flocks 
of  wild  geese,  which  afibrd  pastime  to  sportsmen,  and 
favourite,  if  not  dainty,  food  for  epicures. 

As  we  approached  Harper's  Ferry,  eighty-two  miles 
distant  from  Baltimore,  the  scenery  grew  very  bold  and 
romantic ;  indeed,  when  viewed  from  a  more  elevated 
point  than  we  attained,  the  scenery  in  that  neighbour- 
hood is,  reputedly,  beautiful  and  grand.  On  reaching 
Cumberland,  178  miles  from  Baltimore,  and  at  the  foot 
of  the  Alleghany  range,  we  learned  that  we  could 
remain  there  for  the  night,  and  re-commence  our  journey 
the  next  morning ;  so  we  resolved  to  stay,  and  engaged 
beds  at  the  hotel  nearest  the  r  ,ilway  station.  We  were 
again  annoyed  by  the  apparent  indifierence  of  the  hotel- 
keeper,  and  his  long  delay  in  making  known  to  us  what 
sleeping-room  we  could  have.     If  such  neglect  were  to 


CI. 

he  aspect 
'ough  the 
[  be   seen 

bed,  and 
aols;  now 
3  boulders, 
m  sheet  of 
Dthed  with 
have  in  it 

shad,  the 
ish  is  often 
IS  100  lbs., 
d  cascades, 
istance  and 
;vell  known 
^rourite  dish 
»  frequented 

and  flocks 
rtsmen,  and 

jr-two  miles 
»ry  bold  and 
)re  elevated 
neighbour- 
)n  reaching 
at  the  foot 
we   could 
our journey 
md  engaged 
"We  were 
,f  the  hotel- 
n  to  us  what 
•lect  were  to 


THE  ALLEGHANY  MOUNTAINS.- CINCINNATL 


95 


be  shown  by  an  innkeeper  to  his  visitors  in  England, 
one  may  venture  to  say  that  he  would  have  to  close  his 
establishment  before  many  days  had  gone  over  his  head. 
When,  after  long  and  weary  waiting,  we  attained  the 
knowledge  that  we  could  be  accommodated,  we  hastened 
to  refresh  ourselves  with  ablutions  of  cold  water,  and, 
before  our  evening  meal,  went  out  to  view  the  town,  and 
to  get  a  glance  at  the  scenery  around  it. 

The  town  of  Cumberland  consists  chiefly  of  a  main 
street,  running  north  and  south,  and  having  in  it  the 
principal  "  stores ; "  and  from  it  two  or  three  cross 
streets  branch  off.  The  number  of  inhabitants  may 
be  about  7000.  On  an  elevated  ground,  south  of 
the  river,  there  is  a  court-house,  a  good  Gothic  stone 
church,  with  tower  and  spire,  and  several  villa-like 
residences  of  the  wealthier  inhabitants.  The  trading 
part  of  the  town,  the  bulk  of  the  population,  the  bank, 
and  several  churches,  lie  north  of  the  suspension-bridge, 
between  the  river  and  the  railway.  We  remarked  here 
the  great  number  of  rooms  and  houses  which  had 
written  upon  the  doors,  or  their  sideposts,  "  attomey- 
at-law,"  and  supposed  that,  as  Cumberland  is  the  seat 
of  justice  for  "  Alleghany  County,"  that  circumstance 
might  be  regarded  as  the  explanation  why  the  number 
of  lawyers  here  exceeded  what  is  usually  found  in  such 
a  town,  even  in  America,  where  the  legal  profession 
seems  to  give  the  readiest  passport  to  political  life  or 
office. 

At  our  evening  meal  we  found,  as  we  had  commonly 
found  it  to  be  in  American  hotels,  that  almost  all  provi- 
sions and  attentions  were  given  to  the  ladies.  We  had, 
as  before,  much  difficultv  in  obtaining  places  at  the 
table,  being  left  behind  by  boarders  and  travellers,  who 


\ 


96 


THE  ALLEGHANY  MOUNTAIN^.— CINCINNATI 


rushed  into  the  refreshment-room  at  the  first  sound  of 
the  bell ;  and  when,  through  the  kindness  of  our  minis- 
terial friends,  we  had  obtained  seats,  we  could  not  very 
easily  obtain  tea  and  food.  One  luxury  we  had  here,  as 
elsewhere,  and  which  Englishmen  who  have  not  been  in 
a  hotter  climate  than  their  own  will  hardly  know  how 
to  value,  and  that  is  iced  water.  This  has  been  our 
constant  beverage  since  we  landed  in  America ;  and  it 
is  likely  to  be  so  -^s  long  as  we  remain  in  the  States,  for 
we  not  only  do  not  need  anything  else,  but  we  do  not 
wish  for  or  desire  anything  else ;  and  if  we  did,  the 
customs  of  American  society  would  forbid  it  to  us,  for  a 
minister  of  religion  in  this  country  might  almost  as  soon 
swear  a  profane  oath  as  call  for  wine  or  spirituous 
liquor.  We  do  not  yet,  and,  I  suppose,  we  shall  not, 
relish  fully  the  one  drinking-can  in  the  railway  car  for 
all  passengers ;  but  iced  water,  where  we  can  obtain  it  to 
ourselves,  is  drunk  by  us  with  unspeakable  relish.  We 
have  more  than  once  expressed  our  fears  to  each  other 
that,  having  enjoyed  this  luxury  here,  we  shall  miss  it 
in  our  own  country  when  we  return.  Ice,  even  when  ob- 
tained in  England,  is  not  so  solid,  clear,  and  refreshing 
as  it  is  in  this  coimtry.  It  seems  here  to  give  healthful 
tone  to  the  stomach  and  firmness  to  the  nerves. 

After  tea,  while  the  ladies  repaired  to  their  general 
drawing-room,  and  the  gentlemen  sat  near  the  front 
windows  of  their  room,  some  extending  their  feet  over 
the  window-sills,  and  others  with  their  legs  resting  on 
chair-backs,  where  they  chewed,  smoked,  and  spat.  Dr. 
Hannah  and  I,  with  some  of  our  ministerial  companions, 
climbed  the  hill  north  of  the  railway,  to  view  the  moun- 
tain-scenery, with  the  Potomac,  as  we  looked  towards 
the  south.     The  sun  was  going  down  behind  the  hills, 


THE  ALLEGHANY  MOUNTAINS— CINCINNATI. 


97 


•und  of 
•  minis- 
ot  very 
here,  as 
been  in 
LOW  how 
een  our 
;  and  it 
iates,  for 
e  do  not 
did,  the 
us,  for  a 
;t  as  soon 
ipirituous 
jhall  not, 
ly  car  for 
btain  it  to 
ish.     We 
lach.  other 
11  miss  it 
when  ob- 
refreshing 
,  healthful 

s. 

ir  general 
the  front 
7  feet  over 
resting  on 
spat.  Dr. 
)nipanions, 
the  moun- 
;d  towards 
.  the  hills, 


so  that  the  scene  had  not  such  mingling  of  lights  and 
shadows  as  it  would  have  had  if  the  sun  had  been  higher 
in  the  heavens ;  yet  there  were  before  us  largely-ex- 
tended mountain  ranges,  with  stern  outlines  and  deeply 
awful  shado wings,  and  the  setting  sun  threw  his  beams 
of  glowing  crimson,  at  openings,  across  the  landscape, 
and  made  portions  of  the  river  blaze  with  golden  glory. 
I  sketched  a  memorandum  of  the  outline  of  the  hills 
and  river,  but  it  can  give  no  idea  of  the  sombre  gran- 
deur and  mysterious  loveliness  of  the  reality.  It  was  an 
impression  for  life — a  panorama  to  be  remembered  and 
thought  of  through  succeeding  years. 

After  this  I  went  alone  to  view  the  houses  and  sheds 
of  the  poorer  and  coloured  inhabitants  of  the  town.  I 
found  them  neither  so  low  nor  so  mean  as  the  dwellings 
of  the  humbler  classes  in  the  larger  towns  which  we  had 
visited.  There  was  also  a  good  Methodist  church  ;  and, 
on  the  whole,  I  was  cheered  by  what  I  saw  of  the  state 
and  order  of  the  town.  "We  went  early  to  bed,  that  we 
might  be  refreshed  by  sleep  before  rising  at  four  in  the 
morning ;  but  the  heavy  tramp  of  travellers  and  boarders 
going  to  their  beds  up  to  a  late  hour  prevented  us  from 
falling  asleep ;  and  just  beford  midnight,  when  we  were 
closing  our  eyes  with  the  stillness  that  followed,  an 
over-eager  black  man  came  thundering  at  our  bedroom 
door,  to  call  us  up,  in  mistake,  for  the  midnight  train. 
This  roused  us  so  thoroughly,  that  our  rest  was  irrecover- 
ably broken — a  circumstance  which  was  much  against 
us  after  our  excitemsnt  in  Baltimore,  and  ill-fitted  us 
for  the  loss  of  sleep  we  had  afterwards  to  sustain.  At 
four  we  rose  from  our  beds,  ate  a  hasty  meal,  and  re- 
sumed our  journey  upon  the  rail. 

After  passing  through  some  scenery  which  again  re- 

H 


' 


\  \ 


I  w 


98 


THE  ALLEGHANY  MOUNTAINS.— CINCINNATI. 


minded  us  of  our  own  Skiddaw  and  Windermere  district, 
we  began  fairly  to  ascend  the  AUeghanies,  and  had  in 
some  parts  to  be  drawn  up  zigzag  roads,  and  steep 
inclines,  as  well  as  through  long,  dark  tunnels,  by  power- 
ful engines.  These  ranges  of  mountains  do  not,  like  the 
Alps  of  Europe,  stand  forth  in  clear,  snowy,  crisp  forms, 
seeming  to  inhabit  and  pierce  the  heavens  with  their 
sharp  peaks  and  ridges :  they  are  of  more  round  and 
swelling  shapes,  and  are  covered,  for  the  most  part, 
with  unshorn  forests.  The  height  of  the  highest  point 
of  the  AUeghanies  is  not  much  more  than  half  the 
height  of  "  Sovran  Mont  Blanc  :"  but  the  length  of  this 
American  range  dwarfs  the  Alps ;  it  is  nearly  1000 
miles,  and  extends  from  the  State  of  Georgia  through 
the  States  of  South  and  North  Carolina,  Virginia, 
Pennsylvania,  and  New  York,  and  terminates  in  New 
Hampshire.  Numerous  rivers  have  their  source  in  it, 
and  pass  off  to  the  Atlantic  on  the  east,  and  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi on  the  west.  From  one  of  these,  the  "Alle- 
ghany River,"  the  main  group  of  mountains  derives  its 
name.  The  breadth  of  the  range  is  sixty  or  seventy 
miles.  There  were  some  patches  of  snow  remaining  on 
parto  where  we  crossed,  but  nothing  like  the  vast  cold 
piles  we  saw  on  the  European  Alps.  The  face  of  nature, 
in  other  respects,  was  wild  and  grand.  Forest  trees,  in 
different  stages  of  growth,  maturity,  and  decay,  were  to 
be  seen  on  all  sides ;  now  and  then  some  woodcutter's 
rough  and  solitary  cabin,  most  primitive  in  its  shape, 
peeped  out  from  amidst  the  masses  of  "  primeval  trees ; " 
and  we  could  catch  the  echo  of  the  stroke  of  an  axe,  or 
the  crash  of  a  falling  tree.  One  would  like  to  realise 
the  effect  of  these  mountains  as  seen  from  a  plain  or 
valley  not  far  from  the  foot  of  them  ;  passing  over  them 


THE  ALLEaUANY  MOUNTAINS— CINCINNATI. 


99 


district, 
had  in 
id  steep 
y  power- 
,  like  tlie 
jp  forms, 
ith  their 
)und  and 
LOst  part, 
lest  point 
half  the 
rth  of  this 
irly  1000 
a  through 
Virginia, 
58  in  New 
iirce  in  it, 
fo  the  Mis- 
■he  "Alle- 
derives  its 
or  seventy 
nuining  on 
B  vast  cold 
e  of  nature, 
est  trees,  in 
lay,  were  to 
kToodcutter'a 
1  its  shape, 
3val  trees;" 
f  an  axe,  or 
e  to  realise 
a  plain  or 
g  over  them 


in  the  manner  we  did,  I  can  only  say  that  their  general 
aspect  was  one  of  wild  and  solitary  grandeur.  "With 
our  Methodist  associations,  it  was  impossible  to  journey 
over  these  mountains  without  recalling  the  labours  of 
Asbury,  M'Kendree,  and  other  zealous  pioneers  for 
Christ,  who  crossed  them  to  preach  His  Gospel  to  the 
emigrants  and  settlers  in  the  West,  and  without  com- 
paring our  mode  of  journeying  with  theirs ;  for  theirs 
was  indeed  solitary  travel,  and  it  needed  a  high  heart 
to  tread  these  pathless  forests,  whose  only  tenants  were, 
at  that  time,  wild  beasts  and  savage  men. 

By  about  four  o'clock  we  reached'' Wheeling,  more 
than  300  miles  from  Baltimore,  and  had  our  first  view 
of  the  full  and  broad  Ohio  River.  Wheeling  is  evidently 
a  thriving  and  increasing  town,  and,  from  its  situation, 
its  manufactures,  and  the  great  plenty  of  coal  to  be 
found  in  its  neighbourhood,  it  bids  fair  to  become  a  very 
important  town  in  the  States.  Here  terminates  the 
Ohio  Railway,  and  the  ways  of  transit  hence  branch  off 
to  Pittsburg  on  the  north-east,  to  Columbus,  Ohio,  and 
Indianapolis  on  the  north-west,  and  to  Cincinnati  and 
St.  Louis  for  the  great  and  far  West.  This  town  displays 
some  good  public  and  private  buildings ;  it  is  surrouuded 
by  high,  bold  hills,  and  it  has  a  broad  quay,  and  a 
handsome  suspension-bridge  across  the  Ohio ;  but,  like 
our  English  manufacturing  towns,  it  is  but  a  sooty, 
grimy  place.  The  last  epithet  I  might  also  justifiably 
employ  to  describe  the  "  National  Hotel,"  at  which  we 
8taj''ed  for  the  night.  We  obtained,  as  usual,  a  double- 
bedded  room  for  ourselves,  but  it  was  dirty.  The  noise 
around  us  was  also  annoying,  and,  for  the  third  night 
after  our  Sabbath  excitement  at  Baltimore,  we  could 
obtain  little  or  no  sleep. 


H 


\  \ 


lOO 


THE  ALLEGHANY  MOUNTAINS-CINCINNATI. 


As  may  be  supposed,  this  railway  over  the  Alleghany 
Mountains  is  a  vast  and  costly  undertaking ;  but  it  is 
seen  to  be  most  important,  nationally,  to  the  United 
States :  so  the  cost  has  not  been  spared.  From  the  West, 
by  the  Mississippi  and  the  Lakes,  there  are  outlets  to 
the  Atlantic,  both  on  the  south  and  the  east,  and  this 
without  any  passage  through  the  States,  except  by 
water;  and  as  it  is  discerned  that  the  valley  of  the 
Mississippi  is  destined  to  become  the  grand  granary,  not 
only  for  the  States,  but  for  other  parts  of  the  world, 
American  statesmen  perceived  that,  without  free  and 
easy  communication  between  this  vast  corn-field  and  the 
manufacturing  and  commercial  towns  of  the  east,  the 
States  bordering  on  the  Atlantic  would  be  irreparable 
losers.  To  prevent  this  apprehended  diversion  of  the 
western  corn-traffic  into  the  harbours  of  New  Orleans 
and  Quebec,  and  to  preserve  for  the  Atlantic  States  full 
sympathy  from  those  on  the  Pacific,  this  gigantic  railway 
over  the  AUeghanies  has  been  constructed.  The  wisdom 
of  this  policy  is  unquestionable.  "With  the  railway  and 
canal  from  east  to  west,  tha  States  are  bound  together  by 
commutual  trade  interests  and  facility  of  intercourse, 
and  thus,  in  spite  of  the  distance  of  their  Pacific  from 
their  Atlantic  boundary,  feel  themselves  to  be  still  the 
Great  Federation.  The  returns  of  the  railway  cannot, 
of  course,  be  immediately  remunerative;  but  every 
American  and  every  foreigner  must  feel  that  the  out- 
lay for  its  construction  has  been  wisely  and  nobly 
spent,  and  that  this  Titanic  iron  tram-way  deserves  to 
be  ranked,  as  it  is,  among  the  great  national  works  of 
America.  ^ 

We  left  Wheeling  at  four  o'clock  on  Wednesday 
morning,  and  went  on  board  a  steam -packet,  which  took 


THE  ALLEGHANY  MOUNTAINS— CINCINNATI. 


101 


US  about  five  miles  down  the  Ohio.  Here  we  were  set 
on  shore,  to  start  for  Cincinnati  by  the  railway  through 
Columbus  and  London.  By  the  way,  the  names  of 
English  and  European  cities  of  distinction  are  very 
numerous  in  the  American  States ;  and  not  only  so,  but 
they  multiply  the  names,  having  several  towns  named 
"Athens,"  and  several  "Cambridge,"  for  instance.  It 
might  have  looked  more  truly  national  if  the  Ame- 
ricans had  given  original  names  to  their  towns ;  but 
one  must  attribute  the  present  practice,  I  think,  at 
heart,  to  interest  in  the  celebrities  of  the  Old  World. 
As  for  any  thought  about  postal  confusion,  it  has  not 
seemed  to  enter  the  heads  of  these  namers  of  towns 
in  America. 

Columbus,  the  c&.pital  of  Ohio,  is  another  great  rail- 
way centre,  from  which  lines  branch  off  in  many  direc- 
tions. The  scenery  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  as  we  beheld 
it,  in  travelling  through  it  from  east  to  west,  is  princi- 
pally that  of  forests  and  clearings.  The  trees  by  the 
sides  of  the  road  were  of  all  sizes  and  conditions :  some 
were  very  tall,  and  interlaced  each  other  with  their 
spreading  branches,  while  they  were  richly  festooned  by 
creepers  and  springers ;  others  were  decayed  and  falling, 
or  burnt  black  as  charcoal  both  in  their  huge  trunks 
and  arms;  and  some  had  recently  been  felled  by  the 
woodsman,  and  lay  like  tall  giants  shorn  of  their 
strength  and  pride.  Some  parts  of  the  land  looked 
swampy  and  uninviting ;  but  there  were  many  tracts  in 
high  cultivation,  and  richly  clothed  with  verdure.  The 
dwellings  by  the  way-side  were  really  houses  in  form, 
and  not  mere  log-cabins,  though  they  were  chiefly 
formed  of  boards.  Altogether,  the  State  of  Ohio  has  a 
promising  and  improving  aspect,  unlike  the  worn-out 


102 


THE  ALLEGHANY  MOUNTAINS —CINCIXNATL 


<  ! 


face  which  is  often  presented  by  the  landscape  in  the 
Slaves  States  of  Maryland  and  Virginia. 

I  was  delighted  to  see  in  our  car  two  handsome 
bronze-coloured  persons  sitting  near  to  us,  chatting  and 
laughing  together  in  the  midst  of  white  travellers,  and 
evidently  feeling  at  home  among  them.  This  was  what 
I  had  not  hitherto  seen  in  any  part  of  the  States ;  and 
the  remembrance  of  this  incident  will  stamp  on  my 
mind  the  cheerful  and  pleasant  image  of  "free  and 
young  Ohio.'*  "VVe  rode  with  our  ministerial  compa- 
nions as.  far  as  Xenia;  there  they  went  off  directly 
west  for  Indianapolis,  and  we  went  south-west  for  the 
city  of  Cincinnati.  In  the  succeeding  part  of  our 
journey  we  were  recognised  by  a  located  minister,  who 
was  exceedingly  kind  and  attentive  to  us,  but  who 
spoke  somewhat  apologetically  for  slavery  in  America. 
This  roused  British  feeling  within  us ;  and  on  hearing 
soft  things  said  of  the  "  happiness"  and  "  content- 
ment** of  the  slaves,  we  significantly  inquired  if  there 
were  no  runaway  slaves  from  Kentucky  in  Oliio.  Our 
question  drew  forth  the  following  shuddering  state- 
ment : — 

During  the  previous  hard  winter  many  slaves  had 
escaped  from  the  Slave  States,  over  the  ice  o*"  the  river 
Ohio,  into  the  Free  State.  (You  will  be  reminded  of 
"Eliza**  in  Mrs.  Stowe's  "Uncle  Tom's  Cabin.")  In 
Cincinnati  and  other  towns  many  good  humane  persons 
were  ready  to  receive,  shelter,  and  hide  these  poor 
fugit'ves  from  their  vengeful  pursuers.  Among  the 
rest,  a  negro  woman,  with  her  husband  and  two  children, 
thus  escaped  to  the  Free  State  of  Ohio.  She  was  pur- 
sued, and  her  hiding-place  discovered  and  surrounded. 
Those  who  had  sheltered  her  were  unable  to  save  her, 


THE  ALLEGHANY  MOUNTAINS —CIMCINN ATI. 


103 


Lmerica. 


and  there  seemed  to  be  nothing  left  for  her  but  to  sur- 
render. So  dreadful  was  the  prospect  of  returning  to 
her  bondage,  combined  with  the  knowledge  of  what 
severe  punishment  would  be  inflicted  on  her,  that  she 
set  herself  to  destroy  her  whole  family  rather  than  go 
back  with  them  to  slavery.  She  killed  one  child,  and 
was  about  to  kill  the  other,  before  destroying  herself, 
when  her  fierce  pursuers  broke  into  the  place,  and 
secured  her.  Her  after-fate  I  must  leave  to  your  ima- 
gination. The  relation  of  this  case,  as  you  may  suppose, 
entirely  dissipated  all  that  had  been  said  of  the  "  happi- 
ness and  contentment  of  slaves  in  Amierica." 

Again  we  came  in  sight  of  the  Ohio  River ;  it  was 
flowing  smoothly  and  placidly  on  by  our  side,  and  full 
of  water — though  it  is  not  always  so,  being  subject  to 
great  elevations  and  depressions,  and  rising  as  much  as 
60  feet  higher  in  March  than  in  September.  "We  had 
strongly  desired  to  descend  this  river,  from  Wheeling 
to  Cincinnati,  that  we  might  see  it  in  its  breadth  of 
2400  feet, — the  numerous  lovely  islets  with  which  it 
is  studded,  and  its  banks  adorned  with  resplendent 
flowers  and  foliage  of  rich  and  magnificent  growth. 
Our  resolution  to  be  at  Indianapolis  by  the  beginning 
of  the  Conference,  prevented  this.  We  have,  however, 
seen  sufficient  of  it  to  understand  the  appropriateness 
of  the  name,  "  La  Belle  Riviere,"  given  to  it  by  the 
French, — who,  it  will  be  remembered,  greatly  coveted 
the  possession  of  the  fine  country  beyond  its  border, 
and  longed  to  add  that  land  to  their  Canadian  terri- 
tory, but  were  driven  back  by  the  Virginian  colonists, 
headed  by  Washington,  wlio  was  at  that  time  a  mere 
youth. 

Looking  across  this  noble  stream,  we  could  see  on  its 


i;c.""---->'' 


104        THE  ALLEGUANY   MOUNTAINS.— CINCINNATI. 


ii 


f  * 


south  side,  the  State  of  Kentucky,  the  landscape  of 
which  appeared  broken,  diversified,  and  lovely,  espe- 
cially as  it  was  reflected  on  the  surface  of  "  the  river  of 
beautiful  waters"  which  flowed  between  us  and  that 
State.  Kentucky  has  a  great  reputation  for  fertility, 
so  that  it  is  said  of  it,  in  American  style, — 

"  If  you  plant  a  uail  in  the  soil  at  night, 
It  will  come  up  a  spike  by  morning  light  I" 

From  what  we  have  seen  of  the  Kentuckians  travel- 
ling on  this  side  of  the  water,  I  should  pronounce  them 
interesting  and  good  companions.  They  are  light- 
hearted,  ardent,  and  dashing ;  and  are  exceedingly 
loquacious,  and  very  fond  of  a  joke, — ^a  sort  of  genteel 
Irish  in  America.  We  woul  i  willingly  have  seen  more 
of  them,  and  have  visited  their  celebrated  "  Mammoth 
Cave"  (with  its  subterraneous  churches,  avenues, 
domes,  cataracts,  rivers — with  their  "fishes  without 
eyes,"  pits,  stalactites,  and  depths  of  GOO  fifsi,  and 
length  of  eighteen  miles,  with  an  unknown,  and  as 
yet  unexplored,  extent  beyond),  but  we  could  not  do  so 
without  a  serious  interruption  of  our  duties.  So  we 
left  Kentucky  without  any  personal  visitation,  remem- 
bering that  with  all  its  fertility,  beauty,  and  natural 
wonders,  it  is  a  State  under  the  ban  of  slavery ;  but 
with  this  relieving  circumstance,  that  many  of  its 
proprietors  desire  and  seek  its  deliverance  from  that 
accursed  evil. 

In  the  afternoon  of  Thursday  we  reached  Cincinnati, 
and  by  the  good  offioes  of  our  located  brother,  who 
accompanied  us,  we  were  soon  comfortably  provided  for 
at  the  "  Gibson  Hotel,"  and  were  able  to  go  out  and 
look  at  the  city.     Assuredly  it  is  not  without  fitness 


J*- 


THE  ALLEGHANY  MOUNTAINS— CINCINNATI. 


105 


that  Cincinnati  is  entitled  "The  Queen  City  of  the 
West."  It  is  handsome  and  stately,  and  is  enthroned 
on  a  high,  wide  platform,  in  two  slopes,  on  the  north 
side  of  the  broad  river.  Villas  and  mansions,  embo- 
somed in  trees  and  shrubberies,  Hank  it  and  surround  it, 
while  the  grape  is  extensively  and  successfully  culti- 
vated in  its  vicinity.  Less  than  eighty  years  ago  this 
city  did  not  contain  more  than  100  white  persons — now 
it  has  a  population  of  210,000,  and  is  the  fourth  city  in 
rank  (if  not  the  third)  within  the  United  States.  It 
stood  then  at  the  very  limit  of  western  civilization ;  and 
there  yet  remain  in  the  neighbourhood  bufiUlo  "  trails," 
or  hard  trodden  paths,  three  or  four  yards  wide,  and 
extending  miles  away,  along  which,  almost  in  the  me- 
mory of  living  man,  scores  and  hundreds  of  those  ani- 
mals used  to  crowd  down  through  the  forest  to  drink  at 
the  Ohio.  Now  it  is  become  the  grand  emporium  of 
weatern  trade  and  commerce ;  is  well  drained,  and  well 
supplied  with  water ;  is  paved  down  to  low- water  mark 
at  the  wharf,  and  has  floating  piers  to  rise  and  sink 
with  the  variable  waters  of  the  river;  is  decked  with 
imposing  public  buildings,  handsome  "  stores,'*  and 
numerous  churches ;  and  its  enterprising  inhabitants, 
by  the  system  of  railroads  and  steamboats,  are  in 
constant  and  active  communication  with  all  parts  of 
the  Union,  and,  through  them,  with  all  parts  of  the 
world. 

The  manufactures  of  Cincinnati  are  numerous,  em- 
ploying between  200  and  300  steam-engines ;  but,  as 
you  will  know,  it  is  chiefly  celebrated  for  the  slaughter 
and  sale  of  hogs.  As  many  as  400,000  of  these  animals 
have  been  known  to  be  cut  up  here  during  a  season 
of  twelve   weeks.     We  imagined  that  the  scent  of 


,.";^n.s: 


j,mm^r:a'"^X'Ki::^Z 


(  t 


106        THE  ALLEGHANY  MOUNTAINS -CINCINNATL 

butchered  pigs,  which  had  been  cau^^ht  up  into  the 
rarified  air  from  the  numerous  slaughter-houses  during 
the  day,  came  down  upon  us  in  the  evening,  and  did 
not  make  the  streets,  as  we  walked  through  them,  over 
fragrant.  But  very  likely  the  imagination  had  a  good 
deal  to  do  with  our  impression. 

Cincinnati  has  everywhere  the  signs  of  great  thrift 
and  enterprise ;  and,  in  spite  of  its  immense  butchery 
of  pigs,  it  is  evidently  a  place  of  advancing  taste  and 
literary  culture,  as  well  as  a  town  of  rapidly  rising 
commerce.  Some  of  its  public  buildings  are  of  excel- 
lent forms  and  proportions.  Its  bookshops  are  among 
the  finest  "stores"  in  its  wide,  handsome  streets;  and 
our  own  Methodist  Book-concern  has  a  large  building, 
and  issues  very  numerous  publications  in  the  year.  The 
libraries  and  reading-rooms  of  the  city  are  on  an  exten- 
sive scale,  and  many  of  the  young  citizens,  by  their 
college  studies,  are  preparing  themselves  for  honourable 
and  useful  positions  in  life.  We  visited  the  library  and 
the  reading-room  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Asso- 
ciation, Oi»po8ite  our  hotel,  and  found  them  equal,  if  not 
superior  to  anything  of  the  kind  in  England.  Beligion, 
too,  is  here  venerated  and  liberally  supported.  There 
are  nearly  100  churches  of  various  denominations.  The 
Methodists  have  a  considerable  share  of  them ;  and, 
what  to  us  was  a  fact  of  interest,  the  Germans  have 
here  Methodist  ministers  of  their  own  nation,  issue 
Methodist  publications  in  their  own  language,  and  have 
erected  several  of  the  Methodist  churches.  The  Roman 
Catholics  are  numerous,  and  have  their  "  cathedral,"  as 
well  as  their  other  churches.  After  the  Methodists 
rank  the  Baptists,  the  Protestant  Episcopalians,  the 
Pre8b3rterians,  and  the  Lutherans. 


THE  ALLBOHANV  MOUNTAINS.— CINCINNATI. 


107 


Altogether,  we  recoivwd  a  very  favourable  irapresaion 
of  Cincinnati ;  and  we  resolved,  as  the  night  closed 
upon  us  and  wo  retired  to  rest,  that,  if  circumstances 
would  permit,  we  would  return  to  it  from  the  Con- 
ference, and  get  bettor  acquainted  with  this  "  Queen 
City  of  the  West." 


II 


I: 


! 


I    1 
i 


LETTER  VII. 


INDIANAPOLIS. 


State  of  Indiana :  its  Rapid  Growth — The  City  of  Indianapolis — His  Excel- 
lency the  Governor  and  his  House — Methodism  in  the  State  and  in  the 
City — Public  Kcligious  Services — American  Preaching — A  Bishop's  Ser- 
mon— The  Sabbath  School — A  Love-feast — American  Fires — Political 
Life — A  Stump  Orator — The  Ballot-box — An  Inner  Circle  in  American 
Society — Southern  Visitors — Glimpses  of  Slave -life — Au  Irishman's  Bull 
— Ministerial  Intercourse — Sad  News  from  England. 


Less  than  half  a  century  ago  this  extensive  and  flourish- 
ing State  of  Indiana,  which  contains  about  22,000,000 
of  acres,  was  an  uncultivated  wilderness  of  forest,  swamp, 
and  prairie  land,  and  was  inhabited  by  wild  beasts, 
poisonous  reptiles,  and  savage  men.  Now  it  is  largely 
under  cultivation,  is  divided  into  numerous  counties, 
has  numerous  towns,  its  capital  city,  its  own  legisla- 
tive assembly,  its  state  governor,  judges,  and  various 
officers,  and  a  population  of  more  than  one  million  and 
a  quarter.  The  State  is  favourably  situated :  it  extends 
from  the  river  Ohio,  on  its  southern  boundary,  to  Lake 
Michigan  on  the  north  ;  and  has  the  Wabash  River  on 
its  western  limit  for  more  than  120  miles,  while  the 
White  River  runs  up  eastward  into  its  centre.  Indiana 
is,  for  the  most  part,  an  agricultural  State,  possessing 
a  deep  vegetable  soil,  which  the  "  returns"  of  its 
Agricultural  Society  show  to  be  very  productive.    There 


INDIANAPOLIS. 


109 


lis  Excel- 
nd  in  the 
hop's  Ser- 
-Political 
American 
nan's  Bull 


are  beds  of  coal  and  iron  in  it,  which  are  near  to  the 
surface ;  it  is  intersected  by  numerous  railways,  and  is 
in  the  way  of  the  great  thoroughfare  from  the  south 
to  the  north-western  part  of  the  country. 

Indianapolis,  the  capital  (at  which  we  arrived  by 
railway,  a  journey  over  forest-lands  and  "clearings"  of 
about  100  miles  from  Cincinnati),  stands  in  the  middle 
of  the  State,  and  is  built  on  a  level  and  extensive  plain 
of  richly- wooded  land  ;  it  is  the  meeting-point  for  many 
railways,  and  on  that  account  has  been  named  "the 
City  of  Railroads."  The  ground  on  which  it  stands, 
with  many  miles  of  land  around  it,  was  covered  by  a 
dense  forest,  and  was  sold  for  35,696  dollars  (about 
£7120)  ;  now  it  is  worth  seventy  times  as  much,  is 
divided  on  every  side  into  squares,  streets,  and  gardens, 
as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  and  is  adorned  with  many 
public  buildings.  The  city  is  very  regular  in  its  plan, 
being  laid  out  in  streets  that  diverge  from  a  common 
centre,  and  radiate  in  all  directions  to  the  extent,  in 
some  instances,  of  two  miles.  In  this  respect  it  is  not 
unlike  the  city  of  Washington,  and  looks  well  when  it 
is  viewed  from  an  elevated  position,  though  here,  as 
there,  some  of  the  streets  have  little  more  to  mark  their 
existence  than  the  wooden  fences  at  their  sides,  or  the 
occasional  dottings  of  a  house  or  cottage.  The  prin- 
cipal street  is  named  "  Washington  Street ;"  this  is  the 
chief  thoroughfare  both  for  passage  and  for  business. 
It  contains  some  good  buildings  and  "  stores"  of  brick 
and  stone,  wherein  may  be  purchased,  not  only  tho 
necessaries  of  life,  but  also  its  luxuries  and  delicacies, 
brought  from  London  and  Paris.  This  street,  like  the 
rest  in  Indianapolis,  is  yet  unpaved,  and,  at  times,  is 
deeply  cut  in  its  light  soil  by  heavy  traffic.     In  some 


f 


[ 


no 


INDIANAPOLIS. 


parts,  where  the  ground  has  not  been  trodden  down 
hard,  especially  towards  the  extremities  of  the  town, 
planks  are  laid  for  the  wheels  of  vehicles  to  run  upon. 

Several  of  the  streets  are  planted  at  their  sides  with 
trees,  which,  in  their  perspective  length  of  avenue,  and 
now  in  their  light-green  spring  leaves,  look  very  beau- 
tiful; while,  at  intervals,  there  are  quiet  village-like 
openings,  revealing  pleasant  cottages,  villas,  and  clean, 
summer-like  residences,  surrounded  with  their  gardens 
or  orchards.  The  public  buildings  here  are  respectable, 
but  not  so  imposing  as  those  of  the  larger  cities  we  have 
visited.  The  State  House  stands  in  the  middle  of  a 
spacious  square,  which  is  planted  with  trees ;  the  build- 
ing is  a  copy  from  the  Parthenon  at  Athens,  but  being 
only  of  brick  and  stucco,  it  lacks  dignity.  Its  length 
is  180  feet,  its  width  80  feet,  and  its  height,  to  the  top 
of  the  central  dome,  45  feet.  The  asylums  for  the  blind, 
for  the  deaf  and  dumb,  and  for  the  insane,  all  three  of 
which  are  in  the  suburbs,  are  also  large  and  fair-looking 
edifices.  From  the  central  turret  of  the  Blind  Asylum 
an  extensive  view  may  be  had  of  the  city,  with  its 
radiating  streets,  its  green  avenues,  and  its  encircling 
woods.  The  pop  dation  of  Indianapolis  amounts  nearly 
to  20,000,  and  is  chiefly  white ;  some  free  coloured 
people  live  in  the  outskirts,  but  they  are  not  many. 

The  governor's  house — where  we  are  entertained 
during  our  stay  for  the  Conference — is  a  villa-like  build- 
ing of  wood,  containing  about  ten  rooms;  it  is  sur- 
rounded by  a  garden,  and  stands  near  a  street  which 
leads  to  the  front  of  the  State  House.  The  governor's 
house  is  such  a  one,  both  in  size  and  fittings,  as  a 
retired  English  gentleman,  living  at  the  rate  of  £400 
or  £500  a  year,  would  be  able  to  keep  up.     In  America, 


INDIANAPOLIS. 


lU 


of  course,  money  will  purchase  more  than  with,  us,  and 
I  should  suppose  that  the  governor  may  be  able  to 
support  an  establishment  such  as  this  for  £300  at  the 
most.  The  salary  of  his  office,  though  the  very  highest 
in  the  State,  is  only  about  £200  a  year ;  and  he  has 
told  me  that  he  expends  half  as  much  more  from  his 
own  private  resources.  The  house,  with  its  furniture, 
is  provided  by  the  State,  and  is  set  apart  for  the 
governor  during  the  period  of  his  office. 

The  present  governor — his  Excellency  Joseph  A. 
Wright,  Esq. — is  a  tall,  well-made,  intelligent,  frank, 
and  hospitable  man.  He  has  received  us  wilh  the 
greatest  cordiality,  and  is  ever  anxious  to  supply  to  us 
the  best  of  whatever  his  house  contains.  He  is  evidently 
a  man  of  good  information  and  of  ready  utterance,  and, 
like  the  Americans  generally,  is  always  eager  to  com- 
municate on  subjects  of  interest.  He  is  very  regular 
and  systematic  in  his  mode  of  life,  rises  and  breakfasts 
early,  dines  at  half-past  twelve  at  noon,  sups  at  six,  and 
retires  to  bed  at  ten.  His  house,  and  table  too,  are  free 
to  all  who  choose  to  call  upon  him  or  upon  us,  and 
altogether  we  are  most  comfortably  situated.  Our  host 
is  ready  to  take  us  anywhere,  or  to  explain  to  us  any- 
thing, and  perceiving  our  interest  in  American  matters, 
he  converses  with  us  upon  them  in  the  fre  :st  and  most 
unreserved  manner.  He  is  one  of  those  men  who 
devote  their  lives  to  public  care ;  he  has  held  various 
offices,  has  been  a  member  of  Congress,  and  says  that 
when  his  term  of  office  expires  in  Indiana,  as  it  will 
this  year,  he  shall  seek  some  other  public  employ,  either 
in  this  or  some  other  State.  Not  having  ample  means 
of  his  own  to  fall  back  upon,  his  personal  character  and 
abilities  are  his  best  recommendations.     He  is  a  truly 


112 


INDIANOPOLIS. 


!    ■ 


religious  man  and  a  very  devoted  Methodist,  supporting 
the  cause  of  Christ  to  the  extent  of  his  ability ;  and 
teaching  personally  in  the  Sabbath-school  connected 
with  the  church  at  which  he  worships. 

Methodism  prospers  in  Indiana.  There  are  100,000 
full  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  within 
the  State,  to  say  nothing  of  the  great  numbers  who 
attend  on  the  Methodist  ministry  as  hearers  of  the 
word,  without  being  enrolled  in  membership.  In 
Indianapolis  itself  there  is  much  public  respect  shown 
for  religion ;  there  are  here,  belonging  to  different 
denominations,  as  many  as  twenty-five  churches,  and 
seven  of  these,  including  an  African  church,  belong  to 
the  Methodists.  The  Sabbath-schools  are  twenty- seven 
in  number,  and  in  attendance  upon  them  nearly  all  the 
children  of  the  city  are  to  be  found, — there  being  not 
more  than  250  children  of  eligible  age  who  do  not 
actually  attend  some  Sabbath-school.  Among  the  dif- 
ferent sects  of  professing  Christians  here,  those  of  them 
who  hold  orthodox  sentiments  keep  up  friendly  and 
fraternal  communication  with  each  other.  Several  of 
the  Methodist  delegates:  to  this  Conference  are  lodged  at 
the  houses  of  Presbyterians  and  Protestant  Episcopa- 
lians ;  and,  on  the  Sabbath,  several  churches  of  other 
denominations  are  supplied  by  Methodist  preachers 
during  the  Conference. 

Dr.  Hannah  and  I  have  been  highly  gratified  with 
the  public  services  we  have  attended  in  the  Methodist 
churches  of  the  city.  The  doctor  has  been  very  happy 
in  his  ministrations.  His  sermons  have  been  charac- 
terise'' by  his  usual  eloquence,  and  by  blessed  effects 
upon  his  audiences.  The  attendance  at  the  services  we 
conducted  was  large ;  the  ministers  not  personally  em- 


INDIANAPOLIS. 


113 


ployed  were  present ;  and  the  people,  not  merely  from 
the  city  of  Indianapolis,  but  from  surrounding  states 
and  cities,  crowded  to  hear  the  English  preachers.  Not 
unfrequently  the  congregations  assemble  some  time  be- 
fore the  service  is  to  commence,  and  sing  harmonious 
pieces  together,  as  they  sit,  just  as  a  family  might 
sing  together  in  their  home.  This  thoy  did  until  we 
ascended  the  pulpit  for  the  regular  service.  The  devo- 
tion of  the  ministers  and  people  was  very  fervent ;  and 
at  the  end  of  the  sermon  we  had  to  wait  until  the 
exclamations  of  "  Praise  the  Lord !  '*-  had  somewhat 
subsided  before  we  could  proceed  to  give  out  the  hymn. 

The  American  preaching  which  we  have  heard  is  not 
so  methodical  and  compact  as  the  English.  It  is  drawn 
less  from  the  text,  and  deals  more  with  extraneous  re- 
mark— or  what  would  be  deemed  such  in  England.  But 
if  the  value  of  the  instrument  is  to  be  measured  by  the 
effects  produced,  then  American  Methodist  preaching 
must  be  pronounced  most  fit  and  excellent;  for,  of  a 
truth,  it  has  been  most  wonderfully  owned  of  God.  We 
heard  an  excellent  sermon  from  the  venerable  Bishop 
"Waugh.  He  preached  on  the  Sabbath  morning  in  the 
German  Methodist  church  ;  and  a  more  truly  apostolic 
discourse  could  hardly  be  delivered.  It  was  on  the 
direction  given  by  Paul  and  Silas  to  the  penitent  jailer — 
"  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be 
saved."  It  was  simple,  evangelical,  and  full  of  divine 
unction  and  power.  The  German  Methodists  very 
evidently  profited  by  it ;  and  at  the  end  of  it  they  sang 
with  fervour  their  German  song  of  "  Praise  to  God." 

Several  additional  services  have  been  held  during  the 
time  of  Conference.  There  has  been  a  tract  meetinsr. 
where  several  American  brethren,  with  Dr.  Hannah, 

I 


*  - 


114 


INDIANAPOLIS. 


spoke  very  ably.  There  was  a  meeting  for  Methodism 
in  Ireland.  The  Rev.  J.  Robinson  Scott  explained  the 
object  of  the  meeting,  Bishops  Simpson  and  Janes, 
with  other  ministers,  spoke  earnestly  in  support  of  it ; 
and  a  liberal  collection  was  made.  It  was  reported 
that,  to  aid  Methodism  in  Ireland,  some  £10,000  had 
already  been  contributed  by  the  Methodists  in  America, 
and  that  it  was  confidently  expected  the  sum  of  =£20,000 
would  ultimately  be  supplied  by  them. 

On  the  Sabbath  afternoon,  I  went  with  the  governor 
to  the  school  in  which  he  regularly  teaches,  and  de- 
livered an  address  to  the  children.  On  arriving  at  the 
school,  I  was  highly  gratified  by  a  novel  spectacle  which 
might  be  imitated  with  profit  in  some  parts  of  our  own 
country.  Not  only  the  children  in  the  school,  but 
many  adults,  grouped  in  companies,  were  reading  the 
word  of  God  together,  verse  by  verse  in  rotation,  and 
then  edifying  one  another  by  making  such  remarks  as 
were  presented  to  their  minds.  A  more  profitable 
method  of  employing  the  hours  of  a  Sabbath  afternoon, 
for  many  persons  in  mature  years,  could  scarcely  be 
pointed  out. 

A  love-feast  has  also  been  held  during  the  Conference, 
and  I  think  it  will  never  be  forgotten  by  them  that 
were  present.  Not  only  Methodists  from  different 
parts  of  Indiana,  and  from  surrounding  States  attended 
it,  but  also  ministers  from  the  plains  and  woods  of  the 
far  west.  One  of  these,  with  sun-burnt  countenance 
and  whitened  hair,  said,  **  I  have  slept  on  the  banks  of 
many  western  rivers ;  I  have  been  attacked  in  the  night, 
and  when  alone,  by  wolves;  I  have  travelled,  slept, 
laboured,  and  prayed,  between  terrible  tribes  of  Indians 
at  war  with  each  other ;  I  have  been  in  perils  by  wild 


.!    ( 


INDIANAPOLIS. 


115 


beasts,  by  land  and  by  water,  and  this  for  forty  years : 
and  yet  my  heart  has  not  only  trusted,  but  rejoiced  in 
the  Lord,  and  I  am  now  enjoying  perfect  love!" 
Others  told  how  the  lion  and  the  wolf  in  sin  had 
entered  the  log-cabin  to  devour  the  little  flock,  but  were 
smitten  down  by  the  word  of  Christ,  and  became  lambs 
for  the  charge  of  the  spiritual  shepherd.  And  emigrants 
and  settlers  of  different  nations  told  with  tears  how 
they  left  their  father-lands  to  find  in  a  strange  country 
the  way  of  life  and  salvation.  It  was,  indeed,  a  scene 
of  heart-subduing  influences,  and  of  moral  beauty  and 
grandeur,  such  as  Christianity  alone  can  exhibit. 

I  have  been  strongly  urged  to  preach  in  the  open  air, 
and  to  hold  a  sort  of  camp-meeting  service.  This  I 
should  have  been  glad  to  do,  but  I  was  afraid  of  the  effect 
of  the  heated  atmosphere.  Without  any  exercise,  I  am 
daily  in  such  a  state  of  perspiration  as  to  require  at  times 
several  changes  in  clothes  during  the  day.  The  air  is 
close  and  humid,  and  sometimes  has  the  same  stifling 
effect  upon  us  as  is  felt  in  England  just  before  a  thunder- 
storm. Several  of  the  ministers  have  suffered  from  a 
sort  of  miasma,  which,  in  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  is 
common,  as  are  also  "  chills"  and  "fevers,"  the  effects 
of  the  great  profusion  of  decaying  vegetable  matter. 
And  if  I  had  yielded  to  my  desire  of  hearing  some  ji 
the  backwoodsmen  preach  in  the  open  air,  the  time 
spoken  of  for  the  camp-meeting  would  not  have  served  ; 
since,  on  that  day,  as  also  on  the  night  preceding,  the  rain 
fell  in  torrents,  ploughed  up  the  unpaved  roads,  and  so 
filled  them  with  water  that  we  might  have  floated  along 
them  in  a  canoe. 

While  I  thus  refer  to  the  air  and  the  water,  I  must  not 
forget  to  name  another  element  that  has  called  forth  our 


116 


INDIANAPOLIS. 


n 


excited  attention  daily.  I  mean  the  element  of  fire, 
which  here  commits  terrible  destruction  of  property, 
and  occasions  frequent  alarm.  In  New  York,  and  other 
large  cities  of  the  States,  we  heard  the  fire-bell  ringing 
often,  both  by  day  and  by  night.  But  in  Indianapolis, 
there  seems  to  be  hardlj'-  any  cessation  of  fires.  The 
peal  of  the  fire-bell  is  heard,  I  had  almost  said,  con- 
tinuousl3\  "We  can  scarcely  attend  a  public  service, 
either  on  the  Sabbath  or  week-day,  but  during  it  we 
hear  the  fire-bell's  loud  and  hurried  clang,  and  the 
rattle  of  the  fire-engines  through  the  streets  to  the 
place  of  conflagration.  The  great  number  of  wooden 
erections  in  the  city  is,  I  suppose,  an  explanation  of  this 
fact.  And,  to  judge  from  what  we  have  seen,  when 
a  wooden  building  takes  fire,  there  is  no  chance  of 
saving  it  from  totpi  destruction.  All  that  can  be  done 
by  the  working  of  the  engines  is  to  prevent  the  flames 
spreading  to  the  adjacent  buildings.  As  in  England, 
where  there  is  a  fire,  great  crowds  rush  to  it.  But, 
in  America,  the  crowds  press  up  close  to  the  engines 
and  the  firemen,  there  being  no  ropes  stretched  across 
the  road  to  secure  a  free  working  space  from  intrusion. 

"We  have  had  some  insight  into  American  political 
and  public  life  while  here,  and  facilities  for  observing 
party  associations  and  party  struggles,  such  as  we  could 
hardly  have  had,  if  our  entertainer  had  been  a  person 
merely  in  private  life.  The  governor  is  a  professed 
Democrat  (that  is,  a  moderate  reformer) ;  so  are  most  of 
his  friends  with  whom  we  have  conversed  on  politics  in 
his  house  ;  and  nearly  all  of  them  have  made  no  secret 
of  their  being  extreme  partisans.  They  have  no  for- 
bearance towards  others  who  are  forward  to  proclaim 
political  convictions;  and  though  moderate  and  tern- 


\  \ 


INDIANAPOLIS. 


117 


perate  men  in  other  matters,  in  politics  they  are  most 
resolute  and  determined.  Public  men,  periodicals,  and 
newspapers  maintaining  sentin'  ...Is  in  common  with 
theirs,  are  outrageously  be-praised,  as  it  seems  to  us ; 
and  their  censures  appear  equally  unsparing  and  over- 
done. This  seems,  almost  invariably,  to  be  the  practice 
of  men  who  are  in  earnest  on  politics  in  America,  as  1 
have  before  stated.  Unflinching  adherence  to  party  is 
principle  with  them,  and  to  forsake  a  party  is  regarded 
as  an  act  of  the  greatest  dishonour. 

I  have  been  introduced  by  the  governor  to  several 
officers  of  the  State  of  Indiana.  One  day  he  said  if  I 
would  accompany  him  to  the  post-office,  he  would  in- 
troduce me  to  Judge  "Wick.  I  went  expecting  to  see 
some  personage  who  by  his  appearance  would  inspire 
veneration ;  but  I  found  him  to  be  quite  a  homely, 
common-place  looking  man,  sorting  the  letters  in  a 
disorderly,  warehouse-like  room,  and  as  workman-like  in 
his  dress  as  a  day-labourer  !  He  may,  however,  for  all 
that,  be  a  good  judge,  if  he  still  presides  in  courts  of 
justice.  That  he  does  so,  I  am  not  sure ;  for  it  is  the 
custom  here  to  continue  to  a  man  his  title  after  he  ceases 
to  fill  the  office :  hence,  from  the  custom  of  change 
which  pervades  America,  we  have  so  many  persons 
throughout  the  States  bearing  titles  of  office. 

The  governor  also  took  me  with  him  to  hear  a 
"stump  orator"  of  celebrity  He  is  a  candidate  for 
the  governorship  of  the  state,  and  is  of  the  same  poli- 
tical creed  as  the  present  governor,  our  host.  A 
"  stump  orator"  is  one  who  addresses  the  people  in  the 
open  air  on  public  questions,  the  name  having  been 
derived  from  the  early  settlers'  times,  when  a  speaker, 
in  order  to  make  himself  heard  by  all  who  could  gather 


•^•^Ix-mM^t^-  *V-  -i."1 


'1  I 


118 


INDIANAPOLIS. 


in  the  "  clearing,"  had  to  stand  upon  the  stump  of  a 
forest-tree,  and  address  his  audience.  "VVe  first  went  to 
the  City  Court  House  to  hear  the  candidate  ;  but  while 
that  was  announced  to  be  the  place  of  meeting,  it  was 
not  expected  that  the  building  would  hold  his  audience. 
So,  after  "  Yankee  Doodle,"  and  other  well-known 
tunes  had  been  played  on  the  fife,  accompanied  by  the 
drum,  up  and  down  the  streets  to  gather  the  multitude, 
we  were  led  into  Washington  Street,  where  the  speech 
was  really  to  be  delivered.  The  orator,  supported  by 
his  friends,  took  his  stand  on  the  steps  of  an  hotel,  and 
addressed  the  people,  who  crowded  the  road  and  the 
pavement,  before  and  beside  him. 

He  spoke  on  three  questions :  the  right  of  States  to 
govern  themselves  internally,  the  unreasonableness  of 
the  Maine  Liquor  Law,  and  the  exclusive  proposal  of 
the  *  Know-nothings,*  that  none  but  native  Americans 
should  take  any  part  in  the  government  of  the  country. 
On  each  of  these  questions  he  spoke  well  and  popularly, 
managing  his  audience  with  great  tact.  He  was  a  tall, 
well-made  man,  and  had  a  powerful  voice.  We  stood 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street,  I  should  say  120  feet 
from  him,  and  I  do  not  think  we  lost  one  word  of  his 
speech.  Nor  did  I  perceive  that  in  his  address,  which 
lasted  well  on  to  two  hours,  he  tripped  in  any  one  sen- 
tence, or  faltered  with  a  single  word.  He  was  certainly 
a  master  in  the  art  of  addressing  an  out-door  crowd. 
He  seemed  to  base  all  he  said  upon  the  Constitution,  as 
agreed  to  by  the  American  States ;  and  freely  and 
readily  quoted  Washington,  Jefferson,  and  Adams,  in 
confirmation  of  what  he  advanced.  He  spoke  reverently 
of  morality,  religion,  and  its  ministers  ;  but  he  evi- 
dently pandered  to  the  Irish,  as  Papists,  to  gain  their 


..  ijififcii.jv?-ijja">^'».'.^.<-. 


^*«*»"**»-*-mt*.»  T*-**r«»4y**'>^<>*«4.Mw*~^«'r-*'**f**r'^<*' 


INDIANAPOLIS. 


119 


votes;  as  he  did  also  to  the  prejudices  of  the  whites 
again  f  the  residence  of  coloured  settlers  in  this  "free 
state."  There  were  frequent  bursts  of  laughter,  and 
many  shouts  of  approval  of  what  he  uttered.  The 
whole  exhibition  served  to  bring  to  memory  the  former 
election  times  of  Old  England,  when  an  out-door  crowd 
was  addressed  from  hustings  or  balcony,  by  a  talented 
and  poj)  alar  candidate ;  and  I  was  really  glad  to  have 
had  so  favourable  an  opportunity  of  hearing  an  American 
"  stump  orator." 

The  governor  also  showed  us  how  the  vote  by  ballot 
was  given  in  the  elections.  The  titles  of  the  offices 
to  be  filled  up  are  printed  on  strips  of  yellow  paper 
(the  government  colour),  and  the  voter  writes  upon 
them  the  names  of  the  persons  he  wishes  to  be  elected. 
He  folds  up  his  paper,  duly  signed,  and  drops  it  into  the 
ballot-box ;  a,\d,  at  the  end  of  the  day,  the  votes  are 
recorded,  counted,  and  the  numbers  for  each  candidate 
declared.  This  record  of  every  man's  vote  seems  to 
me  to  take  away  the  secrecy  of  voting.  However,  it 
seems  to  satisfy  the  Americans ;  though,  I  am  told,  it  is 
generally  no  secret  how  a  man  has  voted.  If,  on  pre- 
senting himself  to  deposit  his  paper  in  the  ballot-box, 
there  be  any  doubt  of  the  voter's  identity,  or  any  suspi- 
cion that  his  paper  contains  a  fictitious  name,  he  is 
required  to  hold  up  his  hand  and  swear  to  his  name  as 
given  upon  YJs  voting  paper.  In  times  of  fierce  oppo- 
sition and  contest,  it  is  said  to  be  no  uncommon  fact 
within  populous  districts  for  Irishmen,  prepared  by 
whiskey  for  the  vile  service,  to  give,  at  the  bidding  of 
a  party,  several  votes  each — the  men  swearing  to  as 
many  different  names  as  may  be  required. 

But  we  have  had  the  advantage  of  other  views  of 


j^- 


120 


INDIANAPOLIS. 


t 
I 


American  llfo  and  society,  while  in  Indianapolis,  than 
those  which  I  have  described.  There  is  always  an 
inner  circle  that  must  be  reached  and  studied,  if  the 
real  character  of  a  people  is  to  bo  understood.  And 
the  man  who  takes  his  estimate  of  American  life  and 
manners  merely  from  what  he  sees  of  stump  orators 
and  political  parties,  will  have  very  incomplete  and 
imperfect  data  on  which  to  rest  his  judgment.  Within 
doors,  in  the  houses  of  friends  and  brethren,  and  in  free 
and  intimate  conversation  and  communion  with  them, 
we  have  seen  some  deeply  pleasing  and  refreshing  forms 
of  American  character,  and  of  Christian  and  domestic 
life.  The  governor,  in  his  parlour  and  rocking-chair, 
as  well  as  at  his  hospitable  table,  is  a  truly  genial  and 
sociable  man.  He  is  thoroughly  American  in  his  style 
of  thinking  and  speaking,  as  we  expected  and  desired 
to  find  him ;  and  his  own  country  and  people  are  every- 
thing to  him.  But  he  knows  how  to  appreciate  the 
character  and  power  of  Great  Britain,  and  speaks  well 
of  Old  England  when  her  interests  and  those  of  his  own 
country  do  not  jostle.  Now  and  then  he  will  half 
intimate,  while  dilating  on  American  progress,  a  con- 
viction that  England  is  about  to  be  distanced  and  left 
behind  as  a  worn-out  and  jaded  nation.  But  this 
harmless  outbreak  of  regard  for  his  own  land  we  feel 
we  can  afford  to  let  pass. 

Taking  him  for  all  in  all,  the  governor  is  a  candid 
and  robust  minded  man.  He  is  manly,  frank,  and 
courteous  ;  and  reminds  one  of  the  superior  class  of  our 
English  yeomanry.  He  has  recently  lost  his  wife, 
whom  he  speaks  of  with  the  most  tender  affection.  He 
is  a  kind  and  indulgent  parent,  an  attentive  relative  to 
his  female  kinsfolk  who  are  with  him,  and  a  considerate 


INDIANAPOLIS. 


121 


lis,  than 
vays  an 
I,  if  the 
I.  And 
life  and 
>  orators 
lete  and 

Within 
d  in  free 
th  them, 
ng  forms 
domestic 
ng-chair, 
enial  and 

his  style 
d  desired 
ire  every- 
3ciate  the 
)eak8  well 
)f  his  own 

will  half 
90,  a  con- 
and  left 

But  this 
.  we  feel 

a  candid 
ank,  and 
ass  of  our 

his  wife, 
tion.     He 

elative  to 
onsiderate 


master  to  his  Irish  servants.  At  his  substantial  table, 
where  he  helps  us  and  attends  to  us  as  courteously 
as  the  most  hospitable  English  gentleman  could  do, 
we  meet  many  guests  of  all  classes ;  but  the  majority  of 
them  are  ministers.  We  have  been  much  pleased  with 
the  open  and  generous  bearing  of  some  of  the  governor's 
friends  from  the  South,  who  have  crossed  the  border, 
and  come  to  the  Conference,  not  as  delegates,  of  course, 
but  as  visitors.  They  greatly  urge  Dr.  Hannah  and 
myself  to  accompany  them  to  their  homes,  and  preach 
to  the  Methodists  in  the  Southern  States ;  but  we  cannot 
think  of  doing  so,  while  conscious  of  their  public  rela- 
tion to  the  question  of  slavery.  Still,  we  cannot  but 
conclude  that,  with  their  friendly  bearing  toward,  this 
General  Conference  of  the  North  and  its  members,  the 
friends  whom  we  have  seen  from  the  South  are  in  heart 
opposed  to  that  lamentable  evil. 

We  have  had  with  us  the  Rev.  Henry  Slicer,  a 
presiding  elder  from  Baltimore.  With  his  strong 
American  views,  and  the  large  dush  of  humour  in  his 
somewhat  controversial  nature,  he  has  been  to  us  a  very 
intelligent  and  agreeabU"  companion.  We  have  had, 
too,  for  some  days  with  us,  a  truly  amiable  and  pleasant 
friend  in  Dr.  Bally,  l*res.ident  and  Professor  of  Mental 
and  Moral  Philosophy  at  the  State  University  of  In- 
diana. These,  as  well  as  others,  have  been  joint  par- 
takers with  us  of  the  governor's  hospitality,  and  so 
freely  and  frequently  associated  with  us,  that  we  have 
been  able  to  converse  with  them  at  length  on  subjects 
of  deep  interest.  They  have  all  deplored  the  evil  of 
slavery,  and  expressed  their  desire  for  its  removal.  In 
one  or  two  instances  there  has  been,  what  was  natural, 
an  effort  to  keep  from  our  view  some  of  the  most  ofifen- 


ta^i^/l^^ammt^^m^  mi     iwi 


m  «rt««rf:«*-wif*J>^:5  *  ••««-»*•»*  #%,., 


f 


I 


122 


INDIANAPOLIS. 


sive  features  of  slavery.  And  when,  by  persevering 
questions  we  have  drawn  forth  from  the  less  wary  what 
they  knew  of  the  cruel  treatment  of  negroes,  there  have 
been  side-long  looks  from  the  discreet,  that  told  of 
regret  within  for  the  humiliating  disclosures  made  to  us 
as  visitors  from  another  country. 

This  was  notably  the  case  one  day  when,  after  some 
strong  observations  Dr.  Hannah  and  I  had  made  on  the 
abuse  of  slaves  by  arbitrary  and  irresponsible  owners, 
a  young  lady  present  expressed  her  full  approval  of 
what  we  said.  I  immediately  questioned  her  as  to 
what  she  had  seen  and  known,  in  Kentucky,  of  the 
treatment  of  slaves,  and  she  gave  us  the  following  re- 
lation. One  evening,  at  a  friend's  house  where  she  was 
visiting,  a  weak  and  almost  imbecile  master,  who  had 
sent  a  slave  on  horseback  for  liquor  which  he,  the  owner, 
drank  until  he  became  intoxicated,  would  insist  on 
having  the  poor  negro  severely  beaten  for  obeying  him, 
and  for  doing  what  the  poor  creature  would,  most  pro- 
bably, have  been  flogged  for  refusing  to  do.  The  slave 
was  brought,  stripped,  stretched  by  the  extremities,  and 
bound  to  stakes  upon  the  ground ;  gagged,  to  prevent 
his  cries  being  heard  at  a  distance,  and  then  flogged 
most  unmercifully,  just  to  please  the  whim  of  a  besotted 
and  tyrannical  owner.  Other  exposures  of  the  inhuman 
and  atrocious  system  have  been  made,  at  times,  in  the 
form  of  incidental  evidence ;  and  while  these  recitals  have 
caused  us  almost  to  groan  with  indignant  feeling,  we 
observed  that  they  were  the  source  of  mortification  and 
inward  shame  to  several  of  our  American  brethren.  A 
considerable  portion  of  our  time,  since  we  came  into 
the  States,  has  been  spent  in  conversations  upon  the 
subject  of  slavery. 


"■»>«— *V  •-«"•*  , 


vering 
y  what 
•e  have 
;old   of 

le  to  us 

r  some 
on  the 
owners, 
oval  of 
•  as   to 
of  the 
ing  re- 
she  was 
irho  had 
e  owner, 
asist   on 
ng  him, 
ost  pro- 
he  slave 
ties,  and 
prevent 
flogged 
besotted 
nhuman 
3,  in  the 
tals  have 
ling,  we 
ion  and 
iren.    A 
ime  into 
ipon  the 


1 


I.  ) 


INDIANAPOLIS. 


123 


"We  have  also  met  here  i^everal  Irish  friends  whom  I 
had  seen  in  their  native  land.  Their  conversation  is 
ever  bright  and  sparkling.  One  of  them  amused  us 
much  by  a  thorough  Irish  bull,  whica  he  perpetrated 
one  day  when  we  were  conversing  with  him  on  the 
difference  of  time  between  friends  at  Indianapolis  and 
in  England  and  Ireland.  A  bright  thought  seemed  to 
flash  through  him  in  an  instant  concerning  the  electric 
telegraph  wire  proposed  to  be  laid  down  between  Eng- 
land and  Ireland,  and  America.  "  Ah  ! "  said  he,  "  we 
are  six  hours  behind  them  in  England  and  Ireland ;  but 
soon,  in  less  than  that  time,  we  shall  have  news  from 
across  the  water  here — so  that  we  shall  have  news  of  an 
event  before  it  has  occurred."  That  it  would  appear  so 
by  difference  of  time  was  what  he  meant,  but  it  was 
not  what  he  said. 

We  have  also  seen  the  bishops,  and  Doctors  Durbin, 
M'Clintock,  and  Thompson ;  as  well  as  our  old  and 
beloved  friend,  Dr.  Sargent,  with  whom  we  have  had 
much  free  and  friendly  conversation.  And  we  are  visited 
daily  by,  I  had  almost  said,  crowds  of  both  ministers 
and  laymen,  who  love  and  respect  England  and  English 
Methodism ;  and  who  evidently  feel  interested  in  us  for 
their  sakes.  We  have  had  many  an  affecting  conver- 
sation respecting  "the  old  country"  with  emigrants 
from  England  who  have  come  miles  to  see  us ;  and  we 
have  seen  muny  a  tear  shed  at  the  remembrance  of  home 
and  friends.  Aged  ministers  have  come  to  us  at  the 
governor's,  and  talked  with  us  at  length  of  their  labours 
among  the  Indians  and  the  early  settlers ;  and  younger 
ministers,  from  all  parts,  have  spoken  with  us  of  their 
hopes  and  purposes  in  relation  to  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
in  their   country.     So  that  we  have  had   within  our 


\  { 


124 


INDIANAPOLIS. 


abode  at  Indianapolis,  the  greatest  advantages  for  ascer- 
taining the  state  of  America,  both  civilly  and  religiously. 
"We  have  been  most  kindly  and  hospitably  entertained 
by  Bishop  Ames,  who  resides  in  a  good  and  comfortable 
house  in  the  suburbs  of  this  city.  We  spent  some  very 
pleasant  and  happy  hours  with  him,  his  family,  and  his 
episcopal  brethren.  We  have  also  spent  evenings  out 
at  the  houses  of  the  ministers  and  friends.  At  one 
minister's  house  we  passed  a  very  pleasant  and  profitable 
evening  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Young  (one  of  the  pioneer 
fathers  whom  I  must  afterwards  describe  to  you),  with 
Dr.  Elliott,  the  historian  of  the  great  secession  of 
Southern  from  Northern  Methodism,  and  an  effective 
writer  against  slavery.  With  these,  and  their  wives 
and  friends,  we  conversed,  prayed,  and  sang,  through 
some  very  joyous  hours.  We  have  also  visited,  by  in- 
vitation, a  Quaker's  family,  with  whom,  in  company 
with  the  governor,  we  soon  felt  ourselves  to  be  at  home. 
And  we  have  met  a  large  company  at  the  house  of  a 
professor  of  education ; — so  that  our  intercourse  with 
persons  of  different  professions,  tastes,  and  opinions,  has 
been  great,  and  has  afforded  us  large  means  of  forming 
our  judgment  respecting  the  true  character  of  the 
people  and  the  state  of  things  in  this  country.  We 
have  been  careful  to  improve  our  opportunities  as  much 
as  possible.  And,  on  the  whole,  our  estimate  of  Ame- 
rican society,  life,  and  manners,  has  been  considerably 
raised  by  what  we  have  observed.  There  have  been 
touches  of  social  and  affectionate  nature  which  must  ever 
afford  to  us  very  pleasant  and  grateful  remembrances  ; 
while  our  intercourse  has  been  sweetened  and  sanctified 
by  the  spirit  of  Christ-like  religion  which  we  have 
found  among  our  friends. 


iJKi  mm-..*  -itm-*^ 


INDIANAPOLIS. 


125 


ascer- 
Lously. 
tained 
)rtable 
e  very 
,nd  Hs 
gs  out 
it  one 
jfitable 
pioneer 
.),  with 
sion  of 
ififective 
r  wives 
through 
,  by  in- 
ompany 
it  home, 
ise  of  a 
rse  with 
Lons,  has 
'orming 
of  the 
We 
as  much 
of  Ame- 
liderably 
ive  been 
aust  ever 
brances ; 
lanctified 
we  have 


•y 


On  the  other  hand  we  have  had  our  joys  damped  by 
the  tidings  of  death  which  have  come  to  us  from  our 
own  land.  The  departure  of  dear  Dr.  Beecham  is 
deeply  felt  by  us.  He  was  one  of  my  more  intimate 
friends,  and  had  a  truly  genial  and  affectionate  soul 
under  his  somewhat  formal  and  stiff  exterior.  There 
were  few  to  whom  I  could  confide  an  inner  thought 
with  less  reserve  than  to  him.  He  took  our  passage  for 
us  in  the  Africa  steamship,  selected  our  berth,  and 
showed  deep  interest  in  our  mission.  It  was  plain  to 
me  that,  since  his  return  from  Canada,  be  bore  the 
marks  of  exhaustion  upon  him,  and  that  his  day  of 
strength  was  over.  But  I  little  thought  when  I  last 
saw  him,  that  I  should  see  his  hearty,  open,  English 
face  no  more.  And  the  Church  must  feel  the  loss  of 
him.  IL  ,  vi  a  man  of  unbending  integrity,  of  per- 
severing i'i  fulness,  as  well  as  of  thorough,  English, 
practical  good  sense.  In  him  a  great  man  has  fallen  in 
our  Israel ;  and  in  other  public,  as  well  as  missionary 
mutters,  we  shall  feel  his  removal.  But  while  God 
buries  his  workmen.  He  will  carry  on  His  work ;  and 
we  must  more  earnestly  pray  that  He,  the  Lord  of  the 
harvest,  will  send  forth  labourers  into  His  harvest.  The 
other  news  concerning  deaths  at  Liverpool  has  also 
affected  us,  and  drawn  forth  our  sympathy  and  prayer 
for  the  bereaved.  We  thought  the  time  long  in  getting 
news  from  England;  but  now  it  has  come  it  almost 
wears  the  form  of  an  obituary.  Wherever  we  may  be, 
we  find  proofs  that  in  the  midst  of  life  we  are  in  death ; 
and  we  here  in  America,  as  well  as  you  in  England, 
hear  a  voice  saying, — "  Be  ye  also  ready  ;  for  in  such 
an  hour  as  ye  think  not  the  Son  of  Man  cometh  ! ' 


f» 


\    X 


LETTER  VIII. 

PROGRESS  OF  METHODISM  IN  AMERICA  FROM  1773 

TO  1792.  ' 


Early  Lp.boiirers:  Embury,  Webb,  Boardiaan,  Filmoor,  Asbury,  Straw- 
bridge,  and  Williams — Spiritual  Lifekadness  of  other  Churches ;  and 
their  Quickening,  by  the  Introduction  of  Methodism — Laudable  Example 
of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Jarratt,  a  Clergyman  of  the  Established  Church — Mr. 
Rankin  sent  by  Mr.  Wesley — Question  of  the  Sacramental  Ordinances — 
Disturbing  Effect  of  the  Revolution  on  Methodism — SuiFerings  of  the 
Preachers — Settlement  of  the  Country,  and  Re-organisation  of  Me- 
thodism— Laboiufs  of  Bishop  Asbury,  Garrettson,  and  Jesse  Lee — First 
General  Conference,  and  Revision  of  the  Constitution  of  American 
Methodism. 


Before  I  enter  on  a  description  of  conferential  pro- 
ceedings iiere,  I  judge  it  will  be  really  interesting  to 
you  to  have  in  your  possestion  a  brief  retrospect  of  the 
progress  of  Methodism  on  this  continent,  together  with 
slight  pen-and-ink  sketches  of  it3  most  devoted  and 
successful  labourers.  I  will  therefore  endeavour,  in  this 
letter,  to  set  forth  the  advance  and  growth  of  Me- 
thodism here,  from  the  time  of  the  meeting  of  its 
preachers  in  the  Quaker  City,  in  the  year  1773  (which 
I  previously  noted),  to  the  time  of  the  first  General 
Conference  held  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  in  the  year 
1792.  My  authorities  will  be  the  writers  of  various 
English  and  American  books  (which  I  have  at  hand), 


PROGRESS  OF   METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


127 


773 


ry,  Straw- 
ches;    and 
le  Example 
urch — Mr. 
dinances — 
ings  of  the 
jn   of  Me- 
Lee— First 
f   Americaa 


tial  pro- 
esting  to 
jct  of  the 
ther  with 
roted  and 
ir,  in  this 

of  Me- 
ng  of  its 

3  (which 
General 

the  year 
of  various 

at  hand), 


t 


the  chief  of  them  heing  Dr.  Bangs,  tht/  author  of  the 
"  History  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Ame- 
rica;" but  I  shall  also  add  some  information  derived 
from  Methodist  friends  in  America,  with  whom  I  have 
conversed. 

That  meeting  of  Methodist  preachers  in  Philadel- 
phia was  the  firri  regular  "  conference"  ever  held  for 
Methodism  in  America.  Before  that,  the  meetings  held 
ofEcially  in  relation  to  the  societies  which  had  heen 
formed  were  simply  quarterly  meetings  for  the  circuits, 
seoarately;  but  the  conference  of  preachers  held  in 
Philadelphia,  in  1773,  was  for  all  the  circuits,  con- 
nexionally;  and  the  number  of  1160  members  then 
returned,  shows  how,  by  the  instrumentality  of  a  few 
labourers  from  Ireland  and  England,  the  work  of  God 
had  extended  and  grown.  Philip  Embury  and  Captain 
Webb  had  laboured  successfully  in  New  York,  Long 
Island,  and  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Boardman  had  carried 
the  Gospel  message  into  the  north  as  far  as  Boston,  and 
Mr.  Pilmoor  into  the  south  as  far  as  South  Carolina. 
The  indefatigable  and  persevering  Asbury  had  not  only 
toiled,  for  three  and  six  months  at  a  time,  in  the  central 
cities  of  New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  Baltimore ;  but 
he  had  also  traversed  the  intervening  and  surrounding 
parts,  preaching  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  daily,  to 
settlers  and  to  negroes.  Other  labourers  had  sprung 
forth  to  aid  these  devoted  and  zealous  men  m  their  holy 
work.  A  Mr.  Strawbridge,  formerly  a  local  preacher 
in  Ireland,  and  who  had  settled  in  Frederick  County, 
Virginia,  began  to  preach  in  his  own  house ;  and  after- 
wards went  forth  to  surrounding  villages  and  towns, 
proclaiming  salvation  througV  Christ  to  congregations 
in  log-huts  and  by  the  way-side,  until,  at  length,  ho 


mim 


\  \ 


128 


PROGRESS  OF  SiETHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


separated  himself  wholly  from  secular  pursuits,  and  be- 
came an  itinerant  Methodist  preacher.  Mr.  "Williams, 
too,  a  local  preacher  from  England,  and  who  bore  a 
note  of  credit  from  Mi'.  "Wesley  to  preach  under  the 
direction  of  his  missionaries,  travelled  as  far  as  Norfolk, 
in  the  south-cf  portion  of  Virginia,  publishing  the 
good  news  of  tL :  Guspel  to  the  people.  So  that  within 
the  short  space  of  five  or  six  years,  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus  had  been  proclaimed  by  a  few  poor  itinerant 
Methodist  preachers  through  the  greater  part  of  what, 
at  that  period,  constituted  the  most  populous  region  of 
the  North  American  States. 

In  addition  to  this,  it  may  be  affirmed  as  unquestion- 
ably as  in  England,  that  the  preaching  and  services  of 
Methodism  had  been  the  means  of  quickening  into  life 
and  spiritual  activity,  existing  churches  which  were 
previously  formal  and  lifeless.  "When  the  first  Me- 
thodist missionaries  went  from  England  to  America, 
tlearly  all  the  churches  of  the  colony  were  destitute  of 
earnest  godliness.  The  churches  of  the  South  belonged 
principally  to  the  Established  Church  of  England; 
and,  just  as  it  was  with  the  parent  Church  in  our  own 
country,  vital  piety  was  scarcely  known  among  them, 
and  they  were  marked  by  little  but  the  observance  of 
external  forms  and  ceremonies.  The  nonconformist 
churches,  legally  established  in  the  north,  owed  their 
origin  to  the  "  Pilgrim  Fathers ;"  but  while  they 
still  resembled  their  founders  in  rigid  intolerance  to 
Christians  of  other  views,  they  had  so  far  departed 
from  the  stern  discipline  of  their  Puritan  predecessors 
as  to  be  unable  to  bear,  in  their  pulpits,  the  earnest 
preaching  of  the  great  and  good  Jonathan  Edwards 
against  youthful  immoralities.  ■■•'        -  •" 


PROGRESS  OF   METHODISM  IN   AMERICA. 


129 


1  be- 
iams, 
ore  a 
jr  the 
jTfolk, 
Lg  the 
within 
it  is  in 
inerant 
I  what, 
gion  of 

lestion- 
:vice8  of 
into  life 
ch  were 
Irst  Me- 
^merica, 
jtitute  of 
belonged 
England ; 
our  own 
lg  them, 
rvance  of 
onformist 
ved  their 
ile  they 
erance  to 
departed 
edecessors 
le  earnest 
Edwards 


It  is  true,  that  the  ardent  and  eloquent  "Whitefield 
had  been  among  these  churches,  both  of  the  south  and 
the  north,  and  had  aroused  their  attention,  temporarily, 
to  vital  religion;  but,  for  want  of  organisation  and 
permanent  agency,  the  revival  of  the  work  of  God 
under  him  in  America,  for  the  most  part,  subsided,  and 
lived  only  in  the  recollections  of  those  who  had  heard 
his  powerful  preaching.  There  were  also  in  the  middle 
provinces,  it  is  said,  some  few  ministers  and  members  of 
r-'esbyterian  and  Dutch  Refornied  Churches  who  had 
solid  learning  and  fervent  piety.  These  happily  excep- 
tional cases,  however,  were  few  indeed,  and  did  not  ma- 
terially relieve  the  cold  and  formal  state  of  the  general 
American  Church.  The  majority  of  its  professing  mem- 
bers were  spiritually  dead,  while  they  had  a  name  to  live. 
But,  on  the  introduction  of  Methodism,  some  of  the 
ministers  and  churches  were  stimi^^  3d  to  earnest  efforts 
for  the  revival  of  experimental  and  saving  religion. 

This  seems  to  have  been  eminently  the  case  with  the* 
Rev.  Mr.  Jarratt,  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, in  the  State  of  Virginia.  He  fally  imbibed  the 
spirit  of  Methodism,  and,  fraternally  co-operating  with 
its  preachers,  formed  his  awakened  parishioners  into 
classes,  and  led  them  on  from  the  elementary  principles 
of  religion,  to  maturity  of  Christian  life  and  character. 
Some  of  his  own  statements,  in  letters  of  his  still  extant, 
are  precious  records  of  Pentecostal  visitations  of  grace, 
to  him  and  his  people.  These  letters  prove  that  the 
faithful  preaching  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  in 
believing  dependence  on  the  Holy  Spirit's  influence, 
will  assuredly  and  unfailingly  be  made  the  means  of 
spiritual  awakening  to  a  people,  however  dead  they 
may  be  in  trespasses  and  sins.    If  truth  would  authorise 

K 


( \ 


130 


PROGRESS  OF   METHODISM   IN   AMERICA. 


the  statement,  it  would  be  pleasant  to  have  to  add,  that 
this  good  minister  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  continued  to 
the  end  of  his  life  to  co-operate  with  Methodist  minis- 
terc  in  their  great  and  successful  work.  But  the  best  of 
human  characters  hao  its  infirmities  and  prejudices ; 
and  when  the  Rev.  Mr.  Jarratt  found  that  the  Methodist 
societies  were  organised  into  a  separate  and  formal 
Church,  he  was  so  disappointed  and  offended,  that  he 
not  only  ceased  to  co-operate  with  Methodist  ministers, 
but  even  wrote  letters  against  them. 

Mr.  Rankin,  who,  immediately  on  his  arrival,  sum- 
moned the  Methodist  preachers  in  America  to  meet  him, 
at  the  first  conference  in  Philadelphia,  seems  to  have 
been  sent  by  Mr.  Wesley  more  especially  for  the  esta- 
blishment and  maintenance  of  discipline  in  the  societies. 
The  saving  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  had  been  success- 
fully preached  by  the  itinerants  I  have  named  ;  but  the 
converts  had  not  been  fully  brought  into  order,  and 
under  government.  This,  to  the  orderly  and  practical 
mind  of  Mr.  Wesley,  was  not  satisfactory ;  for,  unlike 
the  seraphic  Whitefield,  he  was  most  careful  to  conserve 
and  to  mature  the  work  of  divine  grace  begun  under 
the  preaching  of  the  Scriptural  word.  He  therefore 
sent  over  Mr.  Rankin,  a  Scotchman,  and  a  determined 
disciplinarian,  to  be  his  general  assistant  for  the  orga- 
nisation of  Methodism  in  America.  And  this  end  of 
his  coming  to  this  continent,  Mr.  Rankin,  to  a  great 
extent,  accomplished.  He  met  with  some  difficulties  in 
a  few  of  the  societies ;  and  Mr.  Asbury  thought  that  he 
assumed  too  much  authority  over  the  preachers ;  but  he 
pursued  his  course  with  rigid  conscientiousness  ;  and,  at 
the  end  of  one  year  of  stricter  church-government, 
there  was  reported  1000  increase  in  the  societies.       .    ; 


PROGRESS   OP   METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


131 


that 
ed  to 
ainis- 
»estof 
iices ; 
hodist 
'ormal 
lat  lie 
listers, 

,  sutn- 

et  him, 

o  have 

te  esta- 

Dcieties. 

success- 
but  the 

ler,  and 

Dractical 

r,  unlike 

conserve 
n  under 
herefore 
ermined 
heorga- 
end  of 
a  great 
culties  in 
tt  that  he 
;  but  he 
;  and,  at 
irernment, 

ies. 


It  would  appear  that  there  was  arising,  among  both 
preachers  and  people,  some  unwillingness  to  submit  to 
Mr.  Wesley's  direction  on  one  point :  his  requirement 
that  they  should  attend  the  services  of  the  Established 
Church,  and  carefully  abstain  from  administering  the 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  among  themselves.  For, 
in  America,  as  in  England,  Methodism  began  in  the 
form  of  societies  professing  to  belong  to  the  Established 
Church;  and  not  as  a  separate  and  distinct  ecclesias- 
tical organisation.  But  as  I  have  stated,  the  Protestant 
churches  of  America  were  mostly  lifeless ;  and  many  of 
the  clergy  were  not  only  opposed  to  Methodism,  but 
were  openly  irreligious.  The  societies,  therefore,  desired 
to  have  the  sacraments  administered  by  their  own 
preachers ;  and  some  of  the  preachers  were  inclined  to 
yield  to  that  desire.  Mr.  Bankin,  under  directions  from 
Mr.  Wesley,  and  assisted  by  Mr.  Asbury,  prevented  this, 
until  the  States  obtained  their  political  and  national 
independence, — when  the  Church  of  England  having 
ceased,  in  America,  to  be  an  establishment  by  law,  and 
the  people  being,  in  numerous  cases,  left  without  sacra- 
ments and  ordinances  through  the  return  of  English 
clergymen  to  their  own  country,  Mr.  Wesley  ordained 
Dr.  Coke  for  the  office  of  general  superintendent,  and 
sent  him  forth  with  letters  of  authority  to  provide  for  the 
wants  of  the  people  by  duly  organising  the  "  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  of  America."  I  should  add,  that  Mr. 
Asbury  was  appointed  to  be  associated  with  Dr.  Coke,  in 
the  general  superintendency ;  and  that  Messrs.  What- 
coat  and  Vasey  were  ordained  "  elders"  for  the  Church. 

The  establishment  of  church  discipline  by  Mr.  Rankin, 
before  the  "  War  of  Independence,"  was  mo^t  op- 
portune ;  for  the  war,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say, 


^ 


1  \ 


132 


PROGRESS  OP  METHODISM  IN   AMERICA. 


seriously  interfered  with  the  labours  of  the  preachers, 
and  the  spread  of  Methodism,  in  America.  The  societies 
and  congregations  were,  of  course,  disturbed  by  the 
general  commotion ;  and  many  of  them  were  reduced  and 
broken  by  the  engagement  of  some  of  their  members  in 
the  war.  The  English  preachers,  too,  were  naturally 
unwilling  to  make  haste  in  taking  the  oath  of  allegiance 
to  the  States ;  and  so  fell  under  suspicion  of  political 
aims,  and  of  enmity  to  the  independence  of  the  colony, 
Mr.  Wesley's  loyal  letter  on  their  duty  to  their  sovereign 
did  not  contribute  to  the  safety  of  the  preachers.  Some 
of  them  were  silenced,  others  were  fined,  and  some  im- 
prisoned. Messrs.  Boardman,  Pilmoor,  and  Bankin, 
returned  to  England.  And  even  Mr.  Asbury,  who, 
though  unwilling  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
States  (while,  as  yet,  their  independence  was  unac- 
knowledged by  the  mother  country),  yet  resolved  not  to 
leave  so  fair  a  field  of  evangelical  labour,  had  to  conceal 
hiinself  by  day;  and,  under  covering  of  night  steal 
forth  to  the  settlers'  cabins  and  negroes'  huts,  to  speak 
and  to  pray  with  his  people, 

But,  with  all  these  difficulties  and  disturbances, 
Methodism,  now  brought  under  regular  discipline,  lived; 
and,  in  some  degree,  increased.  The  preachers,  from  their 
prisons,  preached  through  the  iron  bars  to  their  people, 
and  to  multitudes  who  pressed  to  hear  them,  until,  as 
in  the  case  of  Mr.  John  Hartley,  in  Queen  Anne's 
County,  Maryland,  the  authorities  released  the  preachers, 
lest  all  the  people  of  the  towns  should  be  converted  to 
Methodism.  Mr.  Freeborn  Garrettson,  after  being  con- 
fined for  some  time  in  the  prison  of  Dorchester  County, 
in  the  same  State  of  Maryland,  where  at  night  he  had 
to  lie  on  the  cold  ground,  with  no  pillow  but  a  pair  of 


PROGRESS   OF  METHODISM   IN  AMERICA. 


133 


saddle-bags,  and  with  two  grated  windows  constantly 
open  to  the  air,  on  being  liberated  by  the  governor,  at 
the  suit  of  Mr.  Asbury,  immediately  recommenced  his 
appointed  work  of  preaching  the  Gospel,  and  with 
blessed  success.  "  The  word  of  the  Lord  spread  through 
all  that  country,"  as  he  himself  states,  "  and  hundreds 
of  both  white  and  black  experienced  the  love  of  Jesus ;" 
so  that,  not  far  from  the  place  of  his  imprisonment,  he 
soon  afterwards  preached  to  a  congregation  of  not  less 
than  3000  persons,  and  many  of  his  bitterest  perse- 
cutors became,  there  and  then,  joyful  converts  to  the 
faith  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  "When,  however,  the 
war  was  ended,  then  the  labourers  in  the  Gospel  returned 
to  their  employment  without  restraint  on  the  part  of 
the  newly-constituted  authorities  of  the  Kepublic  ;  and, 
on  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Coke  and  his  companions,  pro- 
ceeded to  organise  themselves  and  their  people  into  a 
separate  and  regular  church,  under  the  authority  of 
Mr.  Wesley. 

This  organisation  of  Methodism,  in  America,  into  a 
distinct  church,  took  place,  as  I  have  already  stated,  in 
the  city  of  Baltimore,  in  the  year  1784,  under  the 
joint  superintendency  of  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Asbury. 
The  preachers  assembled  there  at  that  time  to  the  number 
of  sixty,  being  about  three-fourths  of  the  entire  number 
then  labouring  in  this  continent.  The  first  act  of  the 
Conference  was  to  elect  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Asbury  to 
be  joint  superintendents  :  thus  making  Mr.  Wesley's 
appointment  their  own,  by  an  united  act ;  and  thus 
meeting  the  views  of  Mr.  Asbury,  who  refused  to  ac- 
cept the  office  to  which  he  had  been  appointed  by  Mr. 
Wesley,  unless  elected  to  it  by  the  suffrages  of  his 
brethren  in  America.     Twelve  of  the  preachers  were 


>*»-— —  «— ^^J— g^'i*"'  "•^■^  — 


131. 


y  i, 


PROGRESS   OP   METHODISM   IN   AMERICA. 


ii 


then  elected  and  ordained  as  "  elders"  to  administer  the 
sacraments,  and  to  liave  a  general  supervision  of  asso- 
ciated circuits.  The  "  Articles  of  Religion,"  as  given  by 
Mr.  Wesley  in  his  "Abridged  Form  of  Common  Prayer," 
which  he  had  prepared  for  the  American  Church,  were 
then  agreed  upon,  and  made  the  standard  of  Methodist 
doctrine.  These  "  Articles"  were  selected  from  the 
thirty-nine  Articles  of  the  Church  of  England,  but  were 
reduced  to  twenty-five  by  Mr.  Wesley ;  ho  having  ex- 
cluded such  as  were  doubtful,  or  unnecessary,  in  his  own 
judgment,  for  a  list  which  should  form  an  authorised 
standard  of  Christian  doctrine.  The  "  Form  of  Dis- 
cipline" was  also  agreed  upon ;  and  is  similar  to  the 
discipline  of  our  own  Methodist  Society  in  England, 
except  that  it  is  adapted  to  the  more  formal  "  Episcopal " 
construction  of  church-government  established  in  Ame- 
rican Methodism. 

Thus,  the  Methodist  Church  of  America  was  regu- 
larly organised  and  inaugurated,  something  more  than 
fourscore  years  ago ;  and  it  is  impossible  to  trace 
Methodism  in  this  country,  from  its  commencement  in 
IV  66  up  to  this  period  of  1784,  and  not  see  how  un- 
doubtedly it  was  the  work  of  God,  and  how  signally  it 
was,  in  its  successive  stages,  under  His  providential 
guardianship  and  direction.  In  its  beginning  it  was 
small  and  feeble.  It  was  not  delegated  and  sent  by  any 
man's  authority.  It  was  not  sown  or  pluuted  by  any 
authorised  ministry,  but  by  a  faithful  aged  Christian 
woman,  and  a  re-awakened  lay  preacher.  It  began 
without  system,  further  than  that  five  or  six  persons 
agreed  to  meet  together  in  a  private  house,  for  prayer 
and  Christian  fellowship.  It  laid  down  no  precise  plan 
of  operation ;  for  Methodism  in  America  was  not,  any 


PROORE.SS  OF   METHODISM   IN   AMERICA. 


185 


M 


more  than  in  England,  tho  result  of  human  sagacity 
and  foresiglit.  It  was  not  sketched  out  at  full  length 
and  breadth,  in  cloistered  retirement,  before  being  cur- 
ried out  into  public  action,  like  the  wily  and  craft- 
woven  system  of  Loyola.  It  was  formed  and  matured 
piecemeal,  and  according  to  tho  advance  and  require- 
ment of  circumstances.  It  outrcached  tho  thoughts 
and  purposes  of  the  steady  and  legislative  mind  of  Mr. 
Wesley.  It  broke  in  upon  his  authority  ;  burst  through 
his  prejudices  and  predilections  for  the  Established 
Church  of  England ;  and  framed  itself  into  a  re  ;»ular, 
separate,  and  independent  Church,  making  its  preachers 
"  miniHters,"  and  its  superintendents  "elders"  and 
"  bishops." 

Mr.  Wesley,  however,  in  this  instance,  as  in  others, 
showed  unmistakeably,  that  for  the  work  of  God  he  was 
read)'  to  sacrifice  any  views  and  purposes  of  his  own. 
When  the  organisation  of  American  Methodism  into  a 
regular  and  separate  Church  became  necessary,  he 
cheerfully  acquiesced  ;  and,  fully  satisfied,  as  he  states, 
of  the  Scriptural  parity  of  bishops  and  presbyters  (or 
elders),  ho  ordained  and  set  apart  Dr.  Coke  for  the 
office  of  general  superintendent,  and  sent  him  forth  to 
organise  the  Church,  and,  with  Mr.  Asbury,  to  take  the 
oversight  of  it.  And  here  we  may  undoubtedly  see 
Mr.  Wesley's  view  of  the  form  of  full-church  gc  "^nment, 
where  circumstances  warrant  and  require  itis  t.ioption. 
It  is  that  of  a  Presbytero-Episcopal  Church,  such  as 
existed  and  flourished  in  the  first  ages  of  Christianity. 
Associated  oversight  of  the  churches  (local  societies) 
and  their  ministers  is  provided  for ;  and  yet  the  bishops 
(overseers  or  superintendents)  are  not  independent  of 
the  presbytery  (or  elders),  but  are  elected  to  their  office 


■r-  -  vTV-,  j^-w— ^-«-.  #  - 


136 


PROGRESS  OP  METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


by  their  ministerial  brethren  associated  in  conference, 
and  are  held  responsible  for  their  character  and  acts  to 
that  conference. 

On  the  organisation  of  the  Church  the  preachers 
went,  severally,  to  their  appointed  circuits ;  and  the 
general  superintendents  began  to  travel  to  and  fro 
throughout  the  connection,  taking  episcopal  oversight 
of  the  churches  and  of  their  ministers.  Both  the 
bishops  and  ministers  devoted  themselves  earnestly  to 
their  work,  and  endured  hardship  as  good  soldiers  of 
Jesus  Christ.  Mr.  Freeborn  Garrettson  (now  an  "elder") 
went,  with  Mr.  James  O.  Cromwell,  to  Nova  Scotia,  at 
the  request  of  Mr.  Wesley  and  Dr.  Coke.  The  purpose 
for  which  he  was  sent  was,  to  form  a  society  among  the 
Methodist  settlers ;  and  he  was  exposed  to  no  incon- 
siderable amount  of  peril  and  suffering.  Mr.  Garrettson 
relates  of  his  dangers  in  travelling : — 

"I  traversed  the  mouatains  and  valleys,  frequently  on  foot,  with  my 
knapsack  on  my  back,  guided  by  Indian  paths  in  the  wilderness,  when  it 
was  not  expedient  to  take  a  horse ;  and  I  had  often  to  wade  through  mo- 
rasses half-leg  deep  in  mud  and  water,  frequently  satisfying  my  hunger  with 
a  piece  of  bread  and  pork  from  my  knapsack,  quenching  my  thirst  from  a 
brook,  and  resting  my  weary  limbs  on  the  leaves  of  the  trees.  Thanks  be  to 
God!  he  compensalrl  me  for  all  my  toil,  for  many  precious  souls  were 
awakened  and  converted  to  God." 


In  addition  to  this,  Mr,  Garrettson  suffered  much,  not 
only  from  persecution  by  the  unregenerate  world,  but 
also  from  violent  opposition  by  Antinomian  professors. 
But  notwithstanding  these  difficulties,  the  faithful  la- 
bourer pursued  his  course ;  and  when,  two  years  after- 
wards, he  departed  from  that  British  province  and 
returned  to  the  United  States,  he  left  as  many  as  600 
members  in  the  societies  which  he  had  formed,  and 


PROGRESS  OP   METHODISM   IN  AMERICA. 


137 


/;  I , 


which  were  then  transferred,  for  ministerial  supply  and 
government,  to  the  British  Conference. 

Bishop  Asbury,  and  Mr.  Lee  went  together  south,  as 
far  as  Charleston,  in  South  Carolina,  and  established 
Methodism  there ;  for  though  both  the  Wesleys,  White- 
field,  and  Pilmoor,  had  been  there  previously,  yet  no 
permanent  footing  had  been  obtained  by  their  transient 
visits :  but  now  a  Mr.  Willis  was  left  in  charge  with 
the  work  of  God  in  that  part,  that  it  might  be  duly 
fostered  and  preserved.  The  woods  of  Kentucky  were 
now  penetrated  by  some  Methodist  local  preachers,  and 
the  scattered  groups  of  enterprising  settlers  were  fol- 
lowed by  them  with  the  word  of  life.  One  of  these 
local  preachers  was  attacked  in  his  boat,  on  the  Ohio, 
by  savage  Indians ;  and  died  within  it,  kneeling  down 
and  shouting  praises  to  God.  The  indefatigable  Asbury 
itinerated  north  and  south,  labouring  in  the  Gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ.  At  one  time  we  find  him  at  New  York, 
with  Dr.  Coke ;  then  preaching  on  Long  Island ;  then 
traversing  the  middle  States,  and  going  down  into  the 
South,  by  the  "  Dismal  Swamp "  of  Virginia,  into 
North  Carolina ;  and  afterwards  visiting  Maryland, 
crossing  and  re-crossing  the  Alleghany  Mountains. 
The  notes  by  the  bishop,  in  his  "journal,"  on  these 
long  and  perilous  journeys,  are  truly  interesting ;  and 
give  us  by  a  few  words  an  insight  into  the  labours,  pri- 
vations, and  suflferings  of  American  Methodist  preachers 
in  those  times.  Of  his  passage  through  the  Dismal 
Swamp  of  Virginia  he  says,  "  I  found  we  had  to  go 
twelve  miles  by  water,  and  send  the  horses  another  way. 
Oh,  what  a  world  of  swamps  and  rivers  and  islands  we 
live  in  here!"  Of  his  travel  over  the  Alleghany 
Mountains  he  records  :■— 


It    : 


.1 


t 


138 


PROGRESS  OF  METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


"Thursday,  10th  (1788).  Wc  had  to  cross  the  Alleghany  Mountain  again 
at  a  bad  passage.  Our  course  lay  over  mountains  and  through  valleys,  and 
the  mud  and  mire  were  such  as  might  scarcely  be  expected  in  December. 
We  came  to  an  old  Forsaken  habitation  in  Tygers'  Valley :  here  our  horses 
grazed  about  while  we  boiled  our  meat :  midnight  brought  us  up  at  Jones's, 
after  riding  forty,  or  perhaps  fifty  miles.  The  old  man,  our  host,  was  kind 
enough  to  take  us  up  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning.  We  journeyed  on 
through  devious  lonely  wilds,  where  no  food  might  be  found,  except  what 
grew  in  the  woods,  or  was  carried  with  us.  We  met  with  two  women  who 
were  going  to  see  their  friends,  and  to  attend  the  quarterly  meeting  at 
Clarksbiu'g.  Near  midnight  we  stopped  at  A — -^'s,  who  hissed  his  dogs 
at  us :  but  the  women  were  determined  to  get  to  quarterly  meeting,  so  we 
went  in.     Our  supper  was  tea.     Brothers  Phoebus  and  Cook  took  to  the 

woods ;  old gave  up  his  bed  to  the  women.     I  lay  along  the  floor  on  a 

few  deer-skins  with  the  fleas.  That  night  our  poor  horses  got  no  corn ;  and 
the  next  morning  they  had  to  swim  across  the  Monongahela :  after  a  twenty 
miles'  ride  we  came  to  Clarksburg,  and  man  and  beast  were  so  outdone  that 
it  took  us  ten  hours  to  accomplish  it.  I  lodged  with  Col.  Jackson.  Our 
meeting  was  held  in  a  long  close  room  belonging  to  the  Baptists :  our  use  of 
the  house,  it  seems,  gave  ofl'cnce.  There  attended  about  700  people,  to  whom 
I  preached  with  freedom  ;  and  I  believe  the  Lord's  power  reached  the  hearts 
of  some.  After  administering  the  sacrament,  I  was  well  satisfied  to  take  my 
leave.  We  rode  thirty  miles  to  Father  Raymond's,  after  three  o'clock, 
Sunday  afternoon,  and  made  it  nearly  eleven  before  we  came  in  ;  about  mid- 
night we  went  to  rest,  and  rose  at  five  o'clock  next  morning.  My  mind  has 
been  severely  tried  under  the  great  fatigue  endured  both  by  myself  and 
horse.  O,  how  glad  should  I  be  of  a  plain,  clean  plank  to  lie  on,  as  prefer- 
able to  most  of  the  beds ;  and  where  the  beds  are  in  a  bad  state,  the  floors 
ai'c  worse.  The  gnats  are  almost  as  troublesome  here  as  the  moschetoes  in 
the  lowlands  of  the  seaboard.  This  country  will  require  nmch  work  to 
make  it  tolerable.  The  people  are,  many  of  them,  of  the  boldest  east  of 
adventurers,  and  with  some  the  decencies  of  civilised  society  are  scarcely 
regarded,  two  instances  of  which  I  myself  witnessed.  The  great  landholders 
who  are  industrious  will  soon  show  the  eff'ects  of  the  aristocracy  of  wealth, 
by  lording  it  over  their  poorer  neighbours,  and  by  securing  to  themselves  all 
the  offices  of  profit  or  hononi- :  on  the  one  hand  savage  warfare  teaches 
them  to  be  cruel ;  and  on  the  uUier  Die  preaching  of  Antinomians  poisons 
them  with  error  in  doctrine :  good  moralists  they  are  not,  and  good  Christians 
they  cannot  be,  unless  they  are  better  taught." 

Of  another  journey,  made  in  1789,  over  these  Ame-f 


\ 


PROGRESS  OF   METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


139 


Ame-f 


rican  alps,  to  visit  Kentucky,  which  was  then  a  com- 
parative wilderness,  he  has  recorded  that,  in  some 
places,  the  mountains  "  rose  up  before  him  like  the  roof 
of  a  house ;"  and  he  adds, — 

"  Those  who  wish  to  know  how  rough  it  is  may  tread  in  our  paths. 
What  made  it  worse  to  me  was,  that  while  I  was  looking  to  see  what  had 
become  of  my  guide,  I  was  carried  off  with  full  force  against  a  tree  that 
hung  across  the  road,  some  distance  from  the  ground,  and  my  head  received 
a  very  great  jar,  which,  however,  was  lessened  by  my  having  on  a  hat  that 

was  strong  in  the  crown From  December  14th,  1789,  to  April, 

20th,  1790,  we  compute  to  have  travelled  2578  miles.  Hitherto  has  the 
Lord  helped.  Glory  1  glory  to  our  God  !  .  .  .  I  found  the  poor  preachers 
indifferently  clad,  with  emaciated  bodies,  and  subject  to  hard  fare,  but  I 
hope  they  are  rich  in  faith." 

Such  were  the  labours,  privations,  and  hardships,  of 
the  first  Methodist  bishops,  and  of  their  itinerant 
brethren,  in  America.  And,  in  addition  to  these,  they 
were  not  unfrequently  exposed  to  "  perils  in  the  wilder- 
ness" from  hostile  and  revengeful  Indians,  who  way- 
laid the  solitary  white  traveller,  or  tracked  him  on  his 
path,  with  the  fell  intent  to  tomahawk  and  scalp  him. 
To  this  danger  Bishop  Asbury  was  exposed  in  his 
journeyings  over  the  swamps  and  through  the  forests. 
Sometimes,  from  their  knowledge  that  there  would  be 
hostile  Indians  in  the  way,  it  was  necessary  for 
white  travellers  to  associate  themselves  in  companies, 
and  travel  in  "  caravan."  An  instance  of  this  Bishop 
Asbury  has  noted,  in  his  journal  for  the  year  1792  : — 

"  Wednesday  .'Sth.  This  morning  we  again  swam  the  river,"  (namely, 
Laurel  River,)  "  and  the  west  fork  thereof.  My  little  horse  was  ready  to 
fail.  I  was  steeped  with  water  up  to  the  waist.  About  seven  o'clock,  with 
hard  pushing,  we  reached  the  Crab  Orchard.  IIow  much  I  have  suffered  in 
this  journey  is  only  known  to  God  and  myself.  What  added  much  to  its 
disagreeableness  was  the  extreme  filthiness  of  the  houses." 


■II 


-»r- 


140 


PROGRESS  OF  METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


Again  he  records,  under  the  date  of  May  1st, — 

"  An  alarm  was  spreading  of  depredation  committed  by  the  Indians  on 
the  east  and  west  frontiers  of  the  settlements :  in  the  former,  report  says, 
one  man  was  killed ;  in  the  latter,  many  men,  women,  and  children ;  every 
thing  is  in  motion.  There  having  been  so  many  about  me  at  conference, 
my  rest  was  much  broken :  I  hope  to  repair  it,  and  get  refreshed  before  I 
set  out  to  return  through  the  wildernc-i,  but  the  continual  arrival  of  people 
until  midnight,  the  barking  of  dogs,  and  other  annoyances  prevented.  Next 
night  we  reached  Crab  Orchard,  wh'ji  3  thirty  or  forty  people  were  compelled 
to  crowd  into  one  mean  house.  Wt  could  get  no  more  rest  here  than  we 
did  in  the  wilderness.  We  came  the  old  way  by  Scagg's  Creek  and  Rock 
Castle,  supposing  it  to  be  safer,  as  it  is  a  road  less  frequented,  and 
therefore  less  liable  to  be  waylaid  by  the  savages.  My  body  by  this 
time  was  well  tried.  1  had  a  violent  fever  and  pain  in  my  head ;  and 
I  stretched  myself  on  the  cold  ground,  and  borrowing  clothes  to  keep 
me  warm,  by  the  mercy  of  God,  I  slept  for  five  hours.  Next  morning 
we  set  oflF  early,  and  passed  beyond  Richland  Creek.  Here  we  were 
in  danger,  if  anywhere.  I  could  have  slept,  but  was  afraid.  Seeing 
the  drowsiness  of  the  company,  I  walked  the  encampment,  and  watched  the 
sentilcs  the  whole  night.  Early  next  morning  we  made  our  way  to  Robin- 
son's Station.  We  had  the  best  company  I  ever  met  v/ith — thirty-six  good 
travellers  and  a  few  warriors ;  but  we  had  a  paekhorse,  some  old  men, 
and  two  tired  horses."  lie  adds — "  Through  infinite  mercy  we  came  safe  ;" 
and  then  he  exclaims,  "  Rest,  poor  house  of  clay  from  such  exeriious ! 
Return,  0  my  soul,  to  thy  rest ! " 

These  labours  and  sufferings  of  his  servants  for  their 
Lord  and  Master  were  not  in  vain.  In  different  parts 
of  the  country,  men  not  only  heard  the  word,  but  gladly 
I'eceived  it.  In  some  places,  sudden  and  powerful  out- 
bursts of  the  Holy  Spirit's  influence  came  down  upon  the 
congregations,  and  great  numbers  were  savingly  changed 
and  added  to  the  Church.  Jesse  Lee,  who  accompanied 
Bishop  Asbury  into  the  southern  parts  of  Virginia,  has 
described  what  he  witnessed  of  numerous  conversions 
there.  There  were,  also,  some  remarkable  revivals  of  the 
work  of  God  within  this  period,  both  in  the  city  of  Balti- 
more, and  in  several  other  places ;  and,  in  1790,  Mr.  Lee 


■.v***' ■w-c  ;., 


:.  U.«w:u*  ^.t..ift.v;,»,-,',;»Vgfta 


/■c: 


PROGRESS  OF  METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


141 


)anied 
has 
rsions 
of  the 
Balti- 
r.  Lee 


travelled  northward  as  far  as  Boston,  to  establish  Me- 
thodism in  that  city.  Both  Mr.  Boardman  and  Mr.  Gar- 
ret tson  had  been  there  previously ;  but  had  left  the  small 
societies  formed  without  any  to  watch  over  them,  or  to 
visit  them ;  and,  as  might  be  expected,  these  societies 
had  entirely  dwindled  away.  Not  so  much  as  a  solitary 
Methodist,  or  the  known  friend  of  a  Methodist,  was  left 
in  Boston,  to  welcome  Mr.  Lee  when  he  arrived  there  : 
so  that,  do  what  he  could,  no  house  or  room  could  be 
obtained  by  him  to  preach  in.  But  the  intrepid  evan- 
geli  J,  in  his  plain,  Quaker-like  garb,  took  his  stand 
upon  a  table  which  he  had  placed  under  a  gigantic 
elm,  on  Boston  Common ;  and  there  preached  the  word 
of  life  to  some  thousands  of  men  and  women  who,  from 
the  shady  walks  around,  were  drawn  unto  him  by  his 
joyful  singing  and  fervent  praying.  Yet,  though  the 
people  heard  him  attentively,  for  some  time  after  no 
room  or  house  could  be  obtained  for  Methodist  worship. 
Mr.  Lee  and  others  then  went  into  different  parts  of 
New  England,  and  preached  the  Gospel,  under  much 
opprobrium  and  persecution.  They  were  pelted  with 
mud  and  stones,  and  hooted  at  as  "  Itinerant  Pedlars  ;" 
but  they  pursued,  their  course,  and  gathered  converts  to 
their  cause.  In  this  year,  also,  Sunday-schools  were 
commenced,  in  connection  with  Methodist  places  of 
worship,  for  the  instruction  of  black  and  white  children. 
And  in  the  year  following  (1791),  a  Methodist  preacher, 
named  "William  Losee,  was  sent  by  the  New  York 
Conference  into  Upper  Canada,  where,  after  many 
hardships  by  the  way  and  in  the  country,  he  succeeded 
in  gathering  some  converts  into  classes,  and  arranging 
them  into  a  circuit.  Thus  "  mightily  grew  the  word 
of  God  and   prevailed;"  so  that,  by  the  year  1792, — 


i  \ 
i. 


142 


PROGRESS  OP  METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


'! 


'I. 


only  thirty-six  years  from  the  formation  of  the  first 
small  society  in  Kew  York, — the  Church  had  enlarged 
and  extended  until  it  numbered  66,246  members  ;  and, 
reckoning  the  numerous  attendants  on  its  public  services, 
had  under  its  influence,  it  is  estimated,  not  less  than  a 
twentieth  part  of  the  whole  population  then  containi'd 
in  the  United  States  of  America. 

At  the  first  General  Conference  held  in  this  year,  in 
the  city  of  Baltimore,  it  was  found  that  the  wor]r  of 
Methodism  had  extended  until  tKe  greater  proportion 
of  the  ministers  could  not  attend  any  one  coBfererce 
togeth*  r  •  so  that  annual  conferences  were  in  dar^ger 
of  m;*king  lawa  and  regulations  that  might  not  be  ac- 
ceptable to  the  j^v-aeral  body  of  ministers.  To  remedy 
this,  and  to  harmoiiise  the  general  working  of  Method- 
ism, a  central  couiaJ  had  been  appointed,  composed 
only  of  bit^hops  and  presiding  elders.  But  this  not 
proving  satisfactory,  a  General  Conference  composeu  of 
ministers  from  the  annual  conferences  was  substituted, 
and  appointed  to  meet  at  the  close  of  every  four  years, 
with  powers  to  legislate  for  the  whole  connection,  under 
certain  restrictions.  At  this  General  Conference  in 
Baltimore,  the  constitution  of  the  "  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  America"  was  revised ;  and,  since  then, 
Methodism  has  progressed  and  extended  widely  over 
the  northern  part  of  this  great  coni,inent,  as  may  be 
related  in  my  next  letter. 


/ 


;:ja'*^ 


J 


LETTER  IX. 

PROGRESS  OF  METHODISM  IN  AMERICA  FROM  1792 
TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME. 


Oontinucd  Persecution,  Privation,  and  Difficulty  of  the  Preachers  and  Mis- 
sionaries— Forest  Preaching — Remarkable  Outpourings  of  the  Holy  Spirit, 
and  Striking  Conversions — Camp -meetings — Great  Multitudes  assembled, 
and  Extraordinaiy  Good  effected — Revival  at  Baltimore — Extension  of 
Methodism  to  Canada — Union  of  Canadian  and  British  Methodism — 
Present  Prosperity  of  Canadian  Methodism — Energy  of  Methodism  in  the 
United  States — Its  Vast  Undertakings — Not  Free  from  Division  and  Dis- 
turbance— Slavery — Separation  of  North  from  South — Charges  against 
F.  A.  Harding  and  Bishop  Andrew — Resolutions  of  Northern  Methodism 
against  Slavery — Fraternal  Communication  of  British  Methodism  with 
Anti-Slavery  Methodism  in  America. 


:r\ 


■i- 


I  TAKE  up  the  historic  notice  of  American  Methodism 
at  the  point  where  I  broke  off  in  my  last  letter — the 
year  1792.  Its  progress  continued  to  be  marked  by 
encounter  with  opposition  and  warfare  with  difficulties. 
This,  indeed,  is  the  case  with  every  genuine  work  of 
God,  whether  in  churches  or  individuals.  The  Captain 
of  our  salvation  was  made  perfect  through  suffering ; 
and  it  is  so  with  his  followers,  everywhere.  We  cannot 
attain  matured  strength  and  perfection  without  the 
discipline  of  struggle  and  conflict.  Energy  and  power 
of  character  never  spring  from  soft  luxurious  ease  taken 
on  cushioned  seats  or  sofas ;  but  grow  from  the  habit  of 


144 


PROGRESS  OP  METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


li' 


jH' 


determined  and  persevering  effort  under  afflictive  and 
trying  circumstances.  It  was  this  habit  which  made 
the  early  settlers  in  this  country  men  of  strength,  and 
the  fathers  of  a  robust  and  energetic  people ;  and  which 
gave  to  the  first  Methodist  labourers  here,  and  in  our 
own  country,  that  force  and  breadth  of  character  which 
render  them  still  great  in  our  estimation.  It  will 
be  an  evil  day  for  Methodism,  here  or  elsewhere,  when 
it  shall  cease  to  have  opposition  from  an  unregenerate 
world ;  when  it  shall  have,  as  its  profeeised  supporters, 
accomplished  weaklings,  rather  than  earnest,  persevering 
labourers  accustomed  to  go  forth,  like  our  fathers,  to 
encounter  the  storm,  and  to  enter  personally  into  ag- 
gressive conflict  with  the  enemy. 

At  every  stage  of  its  progress  in  this  country,  the 
work  of  God  has  unmistakeably  roused  the  "old  ha- 
tred." Under  the  malignant  influence  of  the  god  of 
this  world,  violent  mobs  assailed  the  Methodist  evange- 
lists, and  hooted  and  pelted  them  in  the  streets  and  on 
the  roads;  prejudiced  clergymen  publicly  decried  and 
denounced  them,  as  "  circuit-riders,"  and  as  "  Satan's 
messengers;"  while  magistrates  and  governors  prose- 
cuted, fined,  and  imprisoned  them.  But,  constrained 
by  the  love  of  Christ,  these  devoted  heralds  of  the 
Cross  pursued  their  course  of  duty  amidst  all  obstacles, 
not  counting  their  own  lives  dear  unto  them,  in  compa- 
rison with  their  high  spiritual  object.  The  privations 
and  sufferings  of  these  itinerant  labourers  in  the  wild 
and  uncultivated  parts  of  the  country  seem  to  have 
been  very  great.  Some  of  them  are  related  to  have 
passed  as  many  as  twenty-one  successive  nights  in  the 
open  wilderness ;  and  often  they  had  to  swim  across 
broad,  flooded  rivers  and  creeks,  and  then  to  sleep  in 


.'■:3^^- 


( t 


PROGRESS  OF   METHODISM   IN  AMERICA. 


145 


their  wet  clothes  on  the  hard,  cold  ground.  Others 
picked  their  way  through  hundreds  of  miles  in  the 
forest,  by  Indian  trails  and  marked  trees,  to  the  scat- 
tered huts  and  cabins  of  settlers,  that  they  might  carry 
the  word  of  life  to  families  separated  from  religious 
means  and  ordinances,  and  who  had  sunk  down  into 
such  degraded  depths  of  ignorance  that  Lhey  had  to  be 
taught  the  very  first  elements  of  worship, — for  they 
knew  not  when  to  sit  to  hear,  or  kneel  to  pray  1 

Of  others  it  is  related  that  they  paddled  down  the 
great  rivers  more  than  700  miles  at  a  length,  in  frail 
canoes,  to  reach  their  fellow-men  in  the  western  out- 
skirts of  population,  and  for  whose  souls  none  others,  at 
that  time,  cared.  In  their  circuits  they  walked  or  rode 
on  horseback  as  many  as  1 600  miles  within  five  weeks, 
to  preach  the  Gospel  of  Christ  often  to  no  more  than 
half-a-dozen  persons  for  an  audience — for  many  of  the 
settlers  were  then  only  to  be  reached  in  families.  And 
when,  under  other  circumstances,  they  could  assemble 
the  people  together  in  larger  numbers  within  and  under 
the  shelter  of  deep  forests,  they  heard  bears  and  wolves 
moaning  and  howling  around  them  as  they  preached 
and  prayed.  "While  sustaining  such  unwearied  labours 
and  encountering  such  perils,  they  did  not  receive  suffi- 
cient earthly  remuneration  to  be  able  to  provide  them- 
selves with  necessary  food  and  clothing;  neither,  at 
that  time,  was  there  any  provision  made  for  their  wives 
or  children.  Bishop  Asbury  records  in  his  journal  for 
the  year  1806,  when  attending  a  western  conference, 
"  The  brethren  were  in  want,  and  could  not  suit  them- 
selves ;  so  I  parted  with  my  watch,  my  coat,  and  my 
shirt.'* 

Yet,  with  all  this,  they  were  content  and  happy  if  only 

L 


146 


PROQRESS  OF  METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


the  work  of  God  prospered  in  their  hands.  And  Jehovah 
did  not  leave  them  without  bright  and  cheering  proofs 
of  His  power  to  save.  The  records  of  this  period  de- 
scribe some  most  signal  instances  of  numerous  conver- 
sions. "Where  considerable  numbers  could  assemble, 
not  only  scores  but  hundreds  at  one  service  were 
pricked  to  the  heart,  and  cried  out,  "  Men  and  brethren, 
what  must  we  do  P"  In  the  year  1799,  the  first  camp- 
meetings  seem  to  have  been  held  in  the  States  of  Ohio, 
Kentucky,  and  Tennessee.  At  some  of  those  large  out- 
of-door  assemblies  there  were  wonderful  displays  of 
divine  grace.  The  people  who  attended  them  had,  gene- 
rally, been  moved  to  religious  desires  by  the  several 
services  held  among  them  in  their  own  localities.  Thus 
when  called  to  assemble  with  others  alike  concerned  for 
salvation,  they  went  in  right  earnest,  and  fully  resolved 
to  get  religious  good  it  it  wore  to  be  had  by  earnest- 
ness. They  came  forth  with  their  horses,  waggons,  food, 
and  bedding,  by  thousands  ;  encamped,  with  their  seve- 
ral tents,  in  the  wide  wilderness;  and  then,  at  pro- 
tracted services,  under  the  over- hanging  foliage  of  the 
forest-trees  hung  with  lanterns  at  night,  they  continued 
together  for  exhortation,  the  breaking  of  bread,  and 
for  prayer.  At  one  of  these  meetings  as  many  as 
20,000  persons  were  assembled  i  so  that,  for  hearing  the 
word  of  God  preached,  they  had  to  be  gathered  into 
separate  congregations,  and  addressed  by  different 
speakers,  some  of  whom  were  Presbyterians,  and  some 
Baptists — for  earnest  men  delight  to  mingle  where 
there  is  earnest  work  going  on,  though  the  projectors 
of  such  work  may  not  be,  nominally,  of  their  own 
party. 

Some  of  the  scenes  of  spiritual  awakening,  both  of 


PKOGRESS  OF   METHODISM    IN   AMERICA. 


147 


)th  of 


these  and  other  meetings,  were  attended  by  signs  and 
circumstunces  such  as  marked  the  preaching  of  Mr. 
Wesley  and  his  coadjutors  in  England,  and  such  as 
were  beheld  at  Jerusalem  on  the  day  of  Pentecost. 
Hearers  of  the  word  fell  down  to  the  ground,  in  the 
agony  of  spiritual  conviction,  and  cried  aloud  for  sal- 
vation. At  a  large  camp-meeting  at  Caneridge,  it  was 
estimated  that  not  less  than  3000  persons  were  under 
deep  religious  concern  together,  and  made  the  sur- 
rounding woods  resound  with  their  sobs  and  cries  before 
the  Lord.  Bishop  M'Kendree  seems  to  have  taken  a 
very  earnest  and  successful  part  in  these  western  camp- 
meetings  ;  and  some  which  he  attended  are  especially 
memorable  in  connection  with  his  name, 
.  There  were  also  gracious  revivals  in  other  parts  of 
the  country,  where  great  numbers  at  a  time  were  added 
to  the  Lord.  The  city  of  Baltimore  seems  to  have 
been,  on  several  occasions,  the  favoured  scene  of  nume- 
rous conversions,  and  of  large  additions  to  the  church  of 
God.  In  the  year  1818,  a  wondrous  religious  awaken- 
ing commenced  at  "  Fell's  Point,"  in  the  lower  part  of 
the  city,  and  spread  through  the  other  parts :  this 
gracious  visitation  was  manifested  in  several  influential 
families,  appeared  among  the  poorer  portion  of  the 
population,  and  penetrated  even  to  the  prison-cells  of 
felons  and  convicts.  At  that  one  period,  nearly  1000 
persons  were  brought  into  rhuroh-fellowship  with  iho 
Methodists  in  the  city  of  Baltimore.  This  work  of 
God  spread  from  thence  through  the  State  of  Maryluail. 
And  in  the  States  of  Virginia,  New  York,  and  other 
States  of  New  England,  Methodism  also  grew  and 
prospered. 

In  Canada,  too,  Methodism  made  rapid  progress.     I 


148 


PROGRESS  OF   METHODISM   IN  AMERICA. 


havo  already  named  its  commencement  in  that  province 
under  Mr.  Loaee ;  and  among  the  earlier  notices,  I  find 
one  of  a  gracious  revival  in  Upper  Canada,  in  the  year 
1797,  under  Calvin  Woolster,  "  a  man  full  of  faith  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost."     This  work  of  God  seems  to  have 
extended   from   Upper  to   Lower   Canada,   and   on  to 
Quebec,  under  Joseph  Suwyor,  Nathan  Bangs,  William 
Case,  and  other  devoted  servants  of  Christ.     In  1811, 
IMshop   Asbury  crossed   the  St.  Lawrence  River  and 
visited  Canada,  with  which  country  and  its  people  ho 
seems  to  have  been  highly  gratified.     In  1812,  the  de- 
claration of  war  between  America  and  England   pro- 
duced uneasiness  between  Canada  and  the  United  States ; 
and  the  Canadian  Methodists  began  to  entertain  a  desire 
for  separation  from  the  Methodists  of  the  States.     This 
desire  strengthened  naturally  by  a  consideration  of  the 
political  relationship  between   Canada   and   England ; 
and,  at  length,  by  commutual  consent  of  all  parties, 
[Methodism  in  Canada  was  given  up  to  the  British  Con- 
ference, for  general  superintendency  and  government ; 
but  this  was  not  brought  about  until  1828.     Since  that 
period,  Canada  has  been  divided  into  two  sections,  in 
its  relation  to  Methodism,  named  Eastern  and  Western 
Canada  ;  and  these  have  their  own  annual  conferences, 
which  they  hold  in  affiliated  connection  with  the  British 
Conference.       Canada   has  also  had   its   devoted  and 
zealous  labourers  for  Christ :  men  who  carried  the  axe 
with  them   in  their  adventurous  journeys,   that  they 
might  cut  their  way  through  the  forest  wilderness,  and 
fell  trees  by   the  water-side,   place    the   trees  across 
streams,   and    so    pass  over,   and    pursue  their  way.  s 
William  Case,  before  named,  and  who  died  this  year 
(1856),  is  remembered  among    the  Indian  tribes  of 


» 


PROGRESS  OP   METHODISM   IX   AMERICA. 


119 


Canada,  as  "  the  Father  of  tho  Indians,"  and  was  ono 
of  tho  most  honoured  instruments  employed  by  God 
for  the  commencement  of  His  work  in  Canada.  And 
now  schools  and  houses  for  worship  have  multiplied, 
until  this  great  North  American  province,  in  both  its 
Methodist  sections,  is  "  a  field  which  tho  Lord  huth 
blessed."  It  should  not,  however,  bo  forgotten,  that 
alike  among  tho  white  population  and  the  native  In- 
dians, Methodism  in  Canada  is  originally  an  offshoot 
from  the  Methodism  of  the  United  States.  l*etcr  Jones 
and  John  Sunday,  and  other  Indian  converts  in  Canada, 
80  well  known  to  us  in  England,  and  to  hundreds  of 
our  red  brethren,  were  tho  fruit  of  Methodist  agency 
from  the  States. 

With  this  wide  extension  of  the  work  of  God  by  its 
instrumentality,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  the 
United  States  has  steadily  advanced  in  the  multiplica- 
tion of  its  appliances  for  securing  the  stability  of  its 
spiritual  conquests,  while  it  does  not  slacken  in  zeal  and 
effort  for  further  gains.  It  has  made  more  adequate 
provisions  for  its  ministers  and  their  families.  It  has 
instituted  Tract  Societies  and  Sunday  School  Unions. 
It  has  organised  d./mestic  missions  for  widely-scattered 
settlers  of  different  nations,  for  the  poor  degraded 
slaves,  and  for  the  remnants  of  the  various  tribes  of 
Indians ;  and  it  has  sent  forth  its  intrepid  missionaries 
over  the  seas  to  South  America,  Western  Africa,  the 
European  continent,  and  India.  Some  of  these  have 
nobly  sacrificed  their  lives  for  the  name  of  Jesus  :  and 
have,  themselves,  names  which  are  not  only  honourable 
in  the  martyr-records  of  the  Church  on  earth,  but  bright 
in  the  heraldry  of  heaven.  The  dying  saying  of  one  of 
them,  Melville  B.  Cox,  who  was  cut  off  by  the  destruc- 


ifvrsrx:?.- 


\  \ 


150 


PROGRESS  OF  METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


tive  climato  of  Liberia,  in  the  year  1832,  must  long  be 
remembered  as  one  of  the  most  heroic  sayings  of  heroic 
men.  Being  ae  ^  ;d  by  his  friend  what  should  be  written 
upon  his  tombstone  should  he  die  in  Africa,  he  answered, 
**  Write  this — *  Ltjt  thousands  fall  before  Africa  be  given 
up  ! '  "  Other  mir sionaries,  both  male  and  female,  have 
followed  this  brave  warrior  for  Christ,  and  willingly 
surrendered  their  lives,  while  in  the  years  of  compara- 
tive youth  :  thus  pressing,  like  good  soldiers  ~^  their 
Lord,  into  the  citadel,  though  they  knew  beforehand 
that  they  were  Hkely  to  become  mere  stepping-stones 
for  those  who  were  to  follow  after  them,  and  socure  the 
full  victory. 

The  Methodists  of  the  States  have  also  established 
numerous  Schools,  Academies,  Colleges,  and  Univer- 
sities, and  have  spread  them  widely  over  the  length 
and  breadth  of  the  land  ;  and  while  literature  has 
been  cultivated  with  the  most  encoura;>ing  success  in 
these  institutions,  publications  have  been  issued  from 
the  Methodist  press  by  hundreds  of  thousands.  As  the 
work  of  God  has  enlarged,  ministers,  local  preachers, 
class-leaders,  and  other  agents  of  the  Church  have  been 
multiplied ;  and  the  number  of  the  bishops,  for  general 
superintendency  and  oversight,  has  likewise  been  pro- 
portionally augmented. 

It  was  not  to  be  supposed  that  such  a  great  and  ex- 
tended work  of  God  as  I  have  briefly  sketched  could, 
through  good  part  of  a  century,  escape  the  plague 
of  internal  commotion  and  disturbance,  any  more  than 
external  assault  and  conflict.  As  early  as  1793,  we  find 
contention  and  revolt  created  by  disappointed  and  am- 
bitious men ;  and,  at  successive  periods,  secessions  of 
the  disaflected  form  a  part  of  the  chronicle  of  Methodist 


..fctt'-^ 


PROGRESS  OF   METHODISM  IN   AMERICA. 


151 


aflPairs.  At  one  time,  the  appointment  of  ministers  by 
the  bishops  was  opposed,  and  made  the  subject  of  strife 
and  division;  more  than  once,  the  office  of  "  presiding 
elder"  in  the  Church  has  been  assailed ;  and  some  even  of 
the  poor  African  members  in  the  churches  of  the  States 
have  been  moved  to  agitation  and  separation,  on  one 
"  vexed  question"  or  another.  In  reading  the  history 
of  these  disturbances  and  divisions,  it  is  really  curious 
to  notice  the  similarity  of  their  character  and  names 
to  those  of  the  disturbances  and  divisions  of  Methodism 
in  England.  There  have  been  "  Primitive  Methodists," 
"  Eeformers,"  and  *"  Methodist  Associations  ; "  and  all 
these  before  their  namesakes  arose  in  our  country.  I 
need  only  add,  that  notwithstanding  internal  and  ex- 
ternal storms,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Ame- 
rica has  held  on  its  way,  progressing  in  spite  of  dif- 
ficulties and  disturbances,  until  it  is  now  foremost  of 
all  the  churches  of  the  land,  both  in  numbers  and  in- 
fluence. 

One  great  disturbing  element  has,  from  early  days, 
as  you  know,  existed  in  the  Chris  tian  Church  here ;  and 
has,  at  length,  divided  the  Methodist  Church  of  the 
United  States  into  two  parts :  that  is,  the  monster  evil 
of  slavery.  This  abhorrent  syi*tem,  by  its  authorised 
status  under  civil  governments,  has  continually  ham- 
pered and  embarrassed  the  Church.  Mr.  AVesley,  Dr. 
Coke,  Bishop  Asbury,  and  the  early  preachers,  in  their 
conferences,  expressed  the  strongest  opposition  to  this 
"  complicated  villany ; "  and  wrote,  spoke,  and  legis- 
lated for  its  entire  eradication  from  the  Methodist 
Church, — prohibiting,  most  positively  and  perempto- 
rily, both  ministers  and  members  from  any  participa- 
tion in  it.    But  the  fact  of  the  evil  being  sanctioned 


V ««»« I  n  V  *y  J 


V  ^ 


V 


152 


PROGRESS  OF  METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


by  several  of  the  States,  separately,  and  not  being  sub- 
ject to  general  legislation  by  Congress,  interfered  with 
the  action  of  the  Methodist  Churches.  Except  they 
took  the  position  of  direct  rebellion  against  civil  go- 
vernment, any  laws  which  the  Methodists  might  make 
against  slavery  were  impracticable.  On  this  account, 
the  Rules  were  modified  by  the  appendage — that  they 
should  be  carried  into  execution  by  the  annual  con- 
ferences, so  far  as  allowed  by  the  laws  of  the  several 
States.  And  with  evident  reference  to  past  require- 
ments on  this  matter,  relating  to  both  ministers  and 
people  being  free  from  criminal  association  with  slavery, 
the  conference  of  1824  passed  the  following  resolutions, 
which  are  in  the  "  Book  of  Discipline,"  and  remain  in 
force  to  the  present  time : — 

"  Quest.  What  phall  be  done  for  the  extirpation  of  the  evil  of  slavery  ? 

"  Ans.  1 .  We  declare  that  we  are  as  much  as  ever  convinced  of  the  great 
evil  of  slavery :  therefore  no  slaveholder  shnll  be  eligible  to  any  oflicial 
station  in  our  Church  hereafter,  where  the  laws  of  the  State  in  which  he  lives 
will  admit  of  emancipation,  and  permit  the  liberated  slave  to  enjoy  freedom. 

"  2.  When  any  travelling  preacher  becomes  an  owner  of  a  slave  or  slaves, 
by  any  means,  he  shall  forfeit  his  ministerial  character  ia  our  Church,  unless 
he  execute,  if  it  be  practicable,  a  legal  emancipation  of  such  slaves,  con- 
formable to  the  law  of  the  State  in  which  he  lives. 

"  3.  All  our  preachers  shall  prudently  enforce  upon  all  our  members  the 
necessity  of  teaching  their  slaves  to  read  the  word  of  God :  and  to  allow 
them  time  to  attend  upon  the  worship  of  God  on  our  regular  days  of  divine 
service. 

"  4.  Our  coloured  preachers  and  official  members  shall  have  all  the  privi- 
leges which  are  usual  to  others  in  the  district  and  quarterly  conferences, 
where  the  usages  of  the  country  do  not  forbid  it.  And  the  presiding  elder 
may  hold  for  them  a  separate  district  conference,  where  the  number  of 
coloured  local  preachers  will  justify  it. 

"  5.  The  bishops  may  employ  coloured  preachers  to  travel  and  preach, 
when  their  services  are  judged  necessary,  provided  that  no  one  shall  be  so 
employed  without  having  been  reoommended  by  a  ciuarterly  conference." 


J 


.  „ d  ^---^  •  ■  -  i^ 


41 


V 


PROGRESS  OF  METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


153 


J 


/.: 


These  rules  were  not  satisfactory  to  some  of  the 
preachers  and  people,  and  exciting  controversies  arose 
concerning  them;  and,  at  length,  the  Baltimore  con- 
ference suspended  a  minister,  of  the  name  of  Francis 
A.  Harding,  for  the  holding  of  slaves, — which  slaves, 
the  said  minister  pleaded,  the  law  a  of  the  State  in 
which  he  resided  would  not  allow  him  to  emancipate. 
He  appealed  from  the  decision  of  the  conference  of 
Baltimore  to  the  General  Conference  held  in  1844.  But 
this  conference  confirmed  the  decision  given  at  Balti- 
more ;  and,  in  the  proceedings,  brought  out  the  fact, 
that  one  of  the  bishops  (Bishop  Andrew)  was  also  a 
slaveholder.  This  the  bishop  acknowledged,  stating 
that  the  slaves  had  come  to  him  by  his  marriage,  that 
year,  with  a  widow  lady  ;  and  that,  by  t)ie  laws  of  the 
State  in  which  he  lived,  he  could  not  liberate  them. 
Next,  the  question  of  this  bishop's  continuance  in  his 
office  was  raised  ;  and,  on  the  ground  that  he  would  no 
longer  be  acceptable  to  the  connexion  at  large,  judg- 
ment was  likewise  given  against  him.  This  was  no 
sooner  done,  than  thirteen  of  the  conferences  in  the 
Southern  States,  with  the  Churches  belonging  to  them, 
withdrew  from  the  general  connexion,  and  lormed 
themselves  into  a  separate  connexion,  under  the  name 
of  the  "Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South;"  and, 
since  then,  these  separatists  have  never  been  re- 
united to  their  brethren  of  the  North.  It  is  to  the 
General  Conference  of  the  Northern  body  that  we  have 
been  sent.  This  Church  is  not  merely  passively,  but 
actively  and  determinedly  opposed  to  slavery.  The 
separatists  of  the  South  condemn  slavery,  and  pro- 
fess to  seek  its  extii'pation ;  but  the  Church  of  the 
North    imperatively    prohibits    all    participation    in 


Hi 


154 


PROGRESS  OF  MBTHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


slavery,  either  by  ministers  or  other  officers  of  the 
Church.  In  justice  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
South,  however,  it  ought  to  be  stated,  that  no  church 
whatever  is  doing  so  much  for  the  religious  instruction 
of  the  Africans  in  the  United  States  as  it  is  doing. 
It  has  numerous  schools,  nearly  200,000  full-church 
coloured  members — most  of  whom  are  slaves — and 
hundreds  of  thousands  more  of  the  same  dark  race  who 
regularly  hear  from  its  preachers  the  word  of  life. 

Irom  the  beginning,  Methodism  in  England  and 
Amc '  ca  has  maintained  friendly  relationship,  and  has 
exchanged;,  as  occasion  allowed,  fraternal  salutations 
and  greetings,  both  by  written  addresses  and  by  minis- 
terial deputations.  In  the  early  records  of  the  Churches 
we  find  declarations  that  Methodism  throughout  the 
world  is  one.  In  1824,  the  Rev.  Richard  Reece, 
accompanied  by  the  Rev.  John  Hannah,  attended  the 
General  Conference  which  assembled  in  Baltimore. 
In  1836,  the  Rev.  William  I^ord  was  deputed  by  the 
British  Conference  to  attend  the  General  Conference  of 
Methodism  in  the  United  States.  In  1840,  the  Rev. 
Robert  Newton,  D.D.,  was  at  the  General  Conference 
held  in  the  same  city.  In  1848,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Dixon 
attended  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  in  Pittsburg.  And  now,  in  1856,  Dr. 
Hannah  and  I  are  on  our  way  to  the  General  Con- 
ference about  to  assemble  at  Indianapolis. 

Before  the  American  Methodist  Church  was  divided, 
the  British  Conference,  both  bv  its  addresses  and  its 
representatives,  had  to  remonstrate  with  the  Conferences 
here  on  the  ground  of  slavery.  But,  since  the  division, 
there  cannot  be  just  suspicion  of  any  leaning  towards 
slavery  on  the  part  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 


PROGRESS  OP  METHODISM  IN  AMERICA. 


155 


\         I 


North ;  and  with  it  only  the  British  Conference  holds 
communication,  and  recognises  a  relationship. 

These  hasty  notices  of  the  leading  events  and  princi- 
pal circumstances  in  the  history  of  Methodism  on  this 
continent,  will  give  you  a  general  idea  of  the  mariner 
and  measure  of  its  progression  up  to  the  present  time. 
Full  particulars  of  such  a  history  belong  to  the  volumi- 
nous chronicler,  and  not  to  the  writer  of  a  letter.  Some 
further  characteristics  of  the  American  Methodist  Church 
at  its  different  periods  you  will,  however,  be  able  to 
gather  from  the  outline  portraitures  of  some  of  its  most 
prominent  and  successful  labourers,  with  which  I  shall 
endeavour  to  supply  you  in  my  next  letter. 


LETTER  X. 


3HETH0DTST  LABOURERS  IN  AMERICA. 


Francis  Asbury — Dr.  Coke — Asbury's  Peculiar  Adaptations  for  America — 
Hiii  Ca])acity  for  Labour — His  Tirelessneas  in  Travelling — His  Abnega- 
tion of  Self — His  Primitive  Manners — His  Economy  and  Charity — 
Arietl/e  of  the  Sceptical  Doctor — Last  Days  of  Asbury — Ilia  last 
Sciiiiun  and  Triumphant  Death — His  Convert,  Punch,  the  Negro — Punch 
•.  'comes  a  Preacher — Conversion  of  the  Persecuting  Overseer — Punch's 
•.'id  Age — His  Prayer  answered — His  Happy  Death. 


Francis  Asbury  is  uniformly  spoken  of,  here,  as  the 
chief  agent  in  the  establishment  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church :  and,  undoubtedly,  this  honour  is  justly 
due  to  him.  For,  while  Mr.  Wesley  must  ever  be  re- 
garded as  the  father  and  founder  of  Methodism,  both  in 
Europe  and  America,  while  they  were  his  people  who 
first  held  Methodist  meetings  in  this  country,  his 
preachers  who  were  first  sent  forth  to  attend  to  the 
infant  societies  which  had  been  formed,  and  it  was  by 
his  authority  that  the  scattered  societies  were  organised 
into  a  united  and  a  distinct  Church,  yet  it  was  Francis 
Asbury,  more  than  any  other  man,  who  stamped  upon 
the  American  Church  the  Methodist  imag  .•  and  super- 
scription. 

Dr.  Coke  is  also  very  affectionately  and  gratefully 
spoken  of  here.  How  could  it  be  otherwise  ?  He  was 
Mr.  Wesley's  most  devoted  assistant  and  friend.     He 


METHODIST   LABOURERS   IN   AMERICA. 


157 


le 


was  the  father  of  Methodist  missions ;  and  gave  his 
life,  learning,  and  fortune,  to  the  furtherance  of  that 
object.  He  was  the  first  appointed  bishop  of  the 
Methodist  Church  in  America ;  and  to  serve  it  he  crossed 
the  wide  Atlantic  not  less  than  eighteen  times,  at  his 
own  expense.  Dr.  Coke  was,  moreover,  a  true  friend 
of  the  degraded  negro  race ;  and  with  a  zeal  not  less 
ardent  than  that  of  Wilberforce,  Clarkson,  or  Fowell 
Buxton,  he  sought  their  social  and  spiritual  emancipa- 
tion. Here,  as  in  England,  he  was  the  very  drudge 
of  charity ;  and  though  a  gentleman  by  birth  and  a 
scholar  by  education,  he  encountered  the  roughest  mis- 
sionary labour  in  the  unshorn  wildernecs  of  this  Western 
world.  Standing  under  the  broad,  spread^'ng  maple - 
tree,  he  made  the  deep  forest  echo  with  the  sound  of  his 
overstrained  voice,  as  he  preac>.cd  to  assembled  emi- 
grants and  outcast  slaves  the  word  cf  life. 

But  with  all  his  personal  excellence,  zeal,  and  de- 
votedness,  Dr.  Coke  could  not  so  fully  engraft  himself 
ipon  the  American  stock,  and  be  so  thoroughl}'^  united 
to  it,  as  Francis  Asbury.  He  had  strong  predilections 
for  the  Church  of  England  and  its  services  :  these  pre- 
possessions the  Americans  did  not  share,  and  so  they 
became  unwilling  to  confide  their  entire  interests  to 
him.  Above  all  the  reasons,  however,  why  he  failed  to 
secure  the  full  sympathy  of  the  Americans,  the  strongest 
was  his  impulsive  zeal  for  the  immediate  liberation 
of  the  slaves.  This  brought  him  often  into  perilous 
collision  with  the  slave-owners  and  the  government ; 
and,  by  consequence,  led  the  people  to  distrust  his  pru- 
dence. Besides,  Dr.  Coke  did  not  remain  long  at  a 
time  in  America  ;  but  passed  and  repassed  to  England, 
leaving  his  colleague  in  the  general  superintendency  of 


^  \ 


158 


METHODIST  LABOURERS  IN  AMERICA. 


the  Methodist  Church,  in  single  charge  of  the  several 
circuits  and  the  districts. 

Bishop  Asbury,  on  the  other  hand,  gave  himself 
•wholly  to  Methodism  in  America.  As  soon  as  he  ar- 
rived on  this  continent,  he  adopted  it  as  his  field  of 
spiritual  labour  for  life.  And  when  the  Church  here 
had  been  thoughtfully  and  skilfully  organised,  and  him- 
self confirmed  in  his  office,  he  carried  out  the  system  of 
evangelical  agency  and  pastoral  oversight  with  amazing 
energy  and  success.  As  we  have  seen,  the  form  of 
church  government  here  established  was  devised  by 
Mr.  Wesley ;  but  how  much,  under  God,  did  it  depend 
upon  the  agent  Mr.  "Wesley  might  select  to  carry  it 
into  practical  operation  !  That  agent  was  Francis 
Asbury ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  he  was  also 
most  especially  chosen  of  God  for  this  great  work. 

Like  most  men  specially  destined  for  important  service 
under  Divine  Providence,  he  seems,  from  the  beginning 
of  his  itinerant  career,  to  have  had  a  strong  presenti- 
ment of  his  destiny  with  regard  to  America.  In  his 
journal  he  has  recorded  that,  before  any  proposal  was 
made  by  Mr.  Wesley  to  the  Conference  at  Bristol,  in 
1771,  for  some  of  the  preachers  to  go  and  assist  their 
brethren  labouring  in  America,  he  had  felt  strong  and 
clear  intimations  within  his  mind  that  he  ought  to  go 
there ;  and  that,  when  he  made  known  his  views  and 
feelings,  the  preachers  and  his  friends  agreed  in  the  con- 
clusion that  he  ought  to  go.  From  the  conviction  that 
America  was  the  sphere  of  labour  appointed  for  him  by 
God,  he  never  afterwards  moved,  even  for  an  instant. 
When,  in  the  time  of  war  and  extreme  peril,  other 
English  preachers  left  this  continent  and  returned  to 
their  own  country,  Francis  Asbury,  as  I  have  before 


\. 


METHODIST  LABOURERS  IN  AMERICA. 


150 


I 


hinted,  remained,  and  resolved  not  to  desert  his  great 
work  on  any  account.  And  though,  during  the  fiercest 
period  of  the  conflict  for  Independence,  he  durst  not 
appear  abroad  in  the  daytime  (because  unwilling  as  a 
British  subject  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
States),  yet  even  then  he  went  forth  by  night  to  instruct 
the  people,  and  to  pray  with  them  in  their  homes.  He 
states  that  the  two  months  thus  spent  by  him  were  "  a 
season  of  the  most  active,  most  useful,  and  suffering 
part  of  his  life."  For  the  work  in  America  to  which 
he  had  devoted  himself,  he  was  ready  to  make  any 
sacrifice  of  personal  ease  and  comfort ;  and  for  the  ex- 
tension of  Messiah's  kingdom  he  was  ready  to  perform 
any  amount  oi  labour.  Itinerancy  seems  to  have  been 
the  very  element  of  his  existence. 

This  sagacious  as  well  as  zealous  servant  of  Christ 
knew,  from  what  he  had  seen  in  England,  the  power  of 
itinerant  preaching  for  aggression  upon  the  territory  of 
Satan  ;  and,  like  "Wesley  and  Whitefield,  he  went  forth 
into  the  thoroughfares  of  human  society  publicly  to  call 
upon  men  to  enter  the  way  of  salvation.  "  General 
assistant"  as  he  was,  yet  he  did  not  content  himself 
with  making  out  plans  for  the  stated  labour  of  brethren 
placed  under  his  superintendence.  He  did  not  seat 
himself  in  a  comfortable  room,  and  ask,  with  maps  and 
rules  before  him,  "  Who  will  go  for  us?"  No:  like 
all  great  leaders  he  went  forth  personally  at  the  head  of 
his  "  helpers,"  and  cried  "  Follow  me  ! " 

On  his  first  arrival  in  America,  he  saw  the  disposi- 
tion of  the  preachers  to  shut  themselves  up  within  the 
large  towns.  This  he  not  only  lamented  and  con- 
demned, but  he  immediately  went  out  to  the  neglected 
settlers  of  the  wilderness ;  and,  as  he  says,  "  showed 


I  \ 


IGO 


METHODIST   LABOURF^o  IN   AMPTIICA. 


his  brethren  the  way"  of  real  itinerant  labour.  And 
when  raised  to  the  ISfoth'  list  episcopacy  by  the  unani- 
mous voices  of  the  preachois,  and  thus  placed  over  them 
in  the  Lord,  Bishop  Asbury  did  not  seek  ofl&cial  oaso 
cr  personal  indulgence,  by  leaving  the  drudgery  of  the 
work  to  others ;  but  continued  to  adventure  on  the  most 
perilous  evangelic  enterprises,  labouring  more  abun- 
dantly than  they  all.  He  travelled,  it  is  estimated,  not 
less  than  GOOO  miles  a  year  for  the  extended  period  of 
forty- five  years ;  and  preached  at  least  once  a  day 
during  the  whole  of  that  time.  His  journeys  were 
performed,  not  in  railway  cars  or  steamboats,  but 
upon  horseback  or  on  foot,  and  often  under  the  most 
dangerous  and  comfortless  circumstances.  In  his  in- 
teresting "  Journal,"  where  he  has  chronicled  in  the 
most  artless  manner  his  daily  exercises  of  heart  and 
life,  he  tells  us  how  he  had  to  travel  on  the  roughest 
roads ;  to  wade  through  dismal  swamps  ;  to  cross  difficult 
mountain  ridges  ;  to  jr.,jrney  alone  through  the  solitary 
wilderness,  where  tlip  cl-  op  silence  was  broken  only  by 
the  howls  of  huiigiv  wolves,  and  the  yells  of  murderous 
Indians ;  to  swim  o^e^'  broad  rivers,  and  sleep  on  the 
cold  ground  in  his  wet  clothes,  with  no  pillow  but 
his  saddle-bags, — or,  if  he  found  shelter  for  the  night 
in  a  settler's  hut  or  log-cabin,  it  was  not  unfrequently 
in  circumstances  of  the  greatest  inconvenience  and  dis- 
comfort. When  detained  from  itinerant  service,  he 
mourned  over  his  silence,  recording  in  his  journal,  "  It 
now   eight  weeks  since  I   have  preached — awfully 


IS 


dumb  Sabbaths  I"  When  so  far  recovered  in  strength  as 
to  be  able  to  proceed  over  the  Cumberland  Mountains,  \ 
he  relates,  "  On  my  way  I  felt  as  if  I  was  out  of  prison. 
Hail!  ye  solitary  pines!  the  jessamine,  the  red-bud, 


METHODIST   LABOURERS   IN   AMERICA. 


161 


and  the  dog-wood !  How  churming  in  full  bloom  !  the 
former  a  most  fragrunt  smell."  And  ai'torwards  lie 
reeords, — *'  I  have  travelled  about  600  miles  with  an 
inflammatory  fever,  and  fixed  pain  in  my  breast."  For 
arduous  and  enduring  labours,  it  may  be  affirmed,  that 
Francis  Asbury  was  not  excelled  by  any  of  the  most 
devoted  and  toiling  messengers  of  Christ. 

There  is  but  little  of  written  mem'     al  respecting 
this   most    excellent   man.      And     '  «    only   one 

authentic  portrait  of  him  that  I  hav    8«  cept  the 

small  on(  in  the  McthoiUst  Magazine  fo  n^u  ;;  car  1809. 
He  seems  to  have  shrunk  with  instinctive  dread  from 
the  honour  which  cometh  from  man.  It  was  only  by 
stratagem  that  a  likeness  of  him  could  be  obtained, — 
that  of  a  promise  of  clothing  for  his  poor  preachers,  if 
he  would  sit  to  a  portrait- taker.  Before  he  died,  he 
solemnly  enjoined  upon  his  friends  that  no  "Life" 
should  be  written  of  him,  and  that  dying  injunction  to 
the  present  has  been  observed.  His  bodily  remains 
rest,  now,  in  the  "  Mount  of  Olives  "  Methodist  Ceme- 
teiy,  at  Baltimore ;  but  no  monumental  stone  records 
his  deeds.  Without  picture-portraits,  written  memoirs, 
or  marble  monuments,  his  memory  is  blessed  in  the 
Church  he  established  in  the  land ;  and  to  any  one 
standing  within  the  living  walls  of  that  Church,  charac- 
terised by  its  vast  extent,  and  its  goodly  framework  ctf 
spiritual  beauty  and  order,  if  inquiry  were  made  for 
Asbury 's  monument,  the  answer  might  be  in  the  words  of 
that  strikingly  appropriate  inscription  for  Sir  Christopher 
Wren,  within  St.  Paul's  Cathedral: — "  Si momimcntnm 
qucBris,  circumspice  : " — "  If  thou  askest  for  his  monu- 
ment, look  around  thee  ! " 

The  friends  here,  who  remember  him,  describe  him  as 

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METHODIST  LABOUBERS  IN  AMERICA. 


having  been,  in  person,  a  spare,  upright,  and  dignified 
man.  He  is  said  to  have  had  eyes  that  pierced  those 
he  looked  upon,  as  if  he  were  probing  human  character 
to  its  core  ;  while,  at  times,  when  he  was  administering 
reproof,  the  glance  from  under  his  large  overhanging 
brows  was  terrible.  To  judge  from  the  lines  and  fixed- 
ness of  the  mouth,  and  the  general  cast  of  his  features, 
as  shown  in  the  one  portrait  of  him,  firmness  and 
decision,  seriousness  and  earnestness,  must  have  been 
habitual  with  him.  In  his  advanced  years,  they  relate, 
that  his  long,  silvery  locks  flowed  freely  on  his  shoul- 
ders, 80  as  to  give  him  a  truly  venerable  and  fatherly 
appearance.  He  is  also  described  as  having  been 
remarkably  neat  and  clean  in  his  clothing,  and  as 
having  worn  a  plain,  quakerly  kind  of  dress,  and  a 
low-crowned,  broad-brimmed  hat. 

Bishop  Asbury  does  not  seem  to  have  been  marked 
by  imaginative  or  creative  powers  of  mind.  He  was, 
rather,  a  man  of  plain,  solid  understanding,  with  a  po- 
tential will,  and  undiscourageable  endurance  and  perse- 
verance. He  had  mainly  educated  himself  while  on 
his  itinerant  rounds ;  and  he  obtained,  not  only  a  good 
degree  of  ordinary  learning,  but  also  a  critical  acquaint- 
ance with  the  original  language  of  the  New  Testament. 
He  was  a  man  of  exact  order  and  method.  His  business 
movements  are  said  to  have  been  almost  as  regular  as 
clock-work.  Like  Mr.  "Wesley,  he  ate,  slept,  laboured, 
conversed,  and  prayed  by  rule.  He  was  a  rigid  enemy 
to  ease  or  self-indulgence,  and  would  not  allow  it  either 
in  himself  or  his  brethren.  **  The  love  of  money"  had 
no  place  in  his  affections:  he  would  never  take  for 
himself  more  than  60  dollars  (£20)  a  year  for  his 
support,  beyond  his  travelling  expenses;  and  he  dis- 


i> 


•^ 


METHODIST  LABOUREKS  IN  AMERICA. 


163 


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tributed  the  greater  part  of  that  sum  to  the  more 
needy.  His  sermons,  in  his  later  years,  are  described 
as  being  without  regularity  of  plan  or  arrangement ; 
but  still  to  have  been  very  weighty  and  impressive. 
The  simple  truth,  delivered  in  a  solemn,  authoritative 
manner,  accompanied  by  ;he  power  of  the  Spirit,  shook 
the  hearts  of  the  preachers  as  well  as  of  tho  people. 
He  "  ruled  well,"  and  therefore  was  counted  worthy  of 
double  honour.  He  was  forbearing  and  conciliatory 
where  he  observed  any  irregularity  which  did  not 
Involve  a  principle ;  but  where  transgression  was  reaUy 
censurable,  he  was  immovable  in  firmness  and  resolu- 
tion. So  unerring  was  his  insight  of  human  cha- 
racter, that  he  knew  at  a  glance  the  materials  on  which 
he  had  to  work ;  and  he  had  strength  and  courage,  as 
well  as  wisdom,  to  use  them  for  the  best  advantage  of 
the  Church  of  Christ.  Some,  who  only  saw  him  in  his 
public  administrations,  thought  him  stern  and  unap- 
proachable; but  to  those  who  knew  him  well  he  was 
loving  and  easily  accessible.  When  he  entered  the 
poor  man*s  cabin  for  rest  or  for  shelter,  little  children 
ran  to  him  as  soon  as  he  was  seated,  climbed  up  his 
knees,  and  received  his  fatherly  benediction. 

Bishop  Asbury  never  married ;  for,  as  he  used  to  say, 
he  was  too  constantly  occupied  with  the  work  of  God 
to  take  upon  him  the  cares  of  a  private  family.  He 
seems,  however,  to  have  had  a  manly  sense  of  the  duty 
of  help  and  succour  which  man  owes  to  woman.  Thus 
he  always  contributed,  from  his  yearly  pittance,  to  the 
support  of  some  needy  female  or  other ;  and,  when  he 
died,  he  left  2000  dollars,  which  friendship  had  be- 
queathed to  him,  for  the  relief  of  a  preacher's  widow, 
and  of  the  most  needy  of  his  brethren. 


^{ 


164 


METHODIST  LABOURERS  IN  AMERICA. 


"With  all  this,  he  was  pre-eminently  a  man  of  prayer. 
Dependence  upon  God  seems  to  have  been  his  constant 
feeling.  He  began  and  finished  every  service  with 
prayer.  He  prayed  on  the  road,  in  the  silent  woods, 
and  in  the  houses  where  he  lodged,  whether  they  were 
private  or  public.  He  lived  and  breathed  in  the  ele- 
ment of  prayer.  When  a  sceptical  doctor  of  medicine 
refused  to  receive  from  him  any  pecuniary  remuneration 
for  attending  upon  him  during  a  dangerous  sickness,  he 
said,  "  But  I  never  suffer  myself  to  be  in  debt,  so  let 
us  kneel  down  together  and  discharge  the  obligation 
with  thanks  and  supplications  before  the  Lord ;"  and, 
kneeling  down,  he  prayed  most  earnestly  for  the  unbe- 
lieving physician  who  had  dealt  so  generously  with 
him.  His  gift  in  public  prayer  is  spoken  of  as  having 
been  remarkable.  This  talent  he  had  well  improved 
by  exercise,  as  Freeborn  Garrettson,  his  companion  in 
labour,  declared  in  the  funeral  sermon  which  he  preached 
for  the  bishop,  when  he  said,  "  He  prayed  the  best,  and 
he  prayed  the  most,  of  any  man  I  ever  knew.  His 
long-continued  rides  prevented  his  preaching  as  often 
as  'ue  others;  but  he  could  find  a  throne  of  grace,  if 
at       congregation,  upon  the  road."  ,, 

This  truly  apostolic  man  lived  to  a  good  old  age. 
When  he  had  passed  his  threescore  years  and  ten,  and 
when  his  venerable  father,  Wesley,  with  Dr.  Coke,  and 
many  others  of  his  early  friends  and  acquaintances,  had 
departed  to  their  eternal  rest,  he  still  pursued  his 
itinerant  labours.  Incessant  travelling,  amidst  all  the 
changes  of  weather,  and  the  constant  burden  of  anxiety 
which  he  bore  for  the  Church  he  loved,  preyed  seriously 
upon  his  constitution  in  later  years.  But  when  urged 
to  desist  from  continuous  labour,  on  the  ground  that 


■  t 

\ 


METHODIST  LABOURERS  IN  AMERICA. 


165 


\  V 


J 


God  had  graciously  raised  up  many  strong  men  to  carry 
on  and  watch  over  the  work  he  had  begun,  he  replied, 
"  No  man  can  do  my  work."  "When  too  weak  to  preach 
on  his  journeys  as  often  as  he  had  been  wont  to  do,  he 
had  printed  copies  of  the  "Word  of  God  stored  in  his 
waggon,  to  distribute  as  he  went  along  the  road,  saying, 
"  Now  I  know  that  I  am  sowing  good  seed."  From 
the  last  entries  he  made  in  his  journal,  it  is  plain  that  all 
his  desires  for  itinerant  labour  were  not  then  fulfilled, 
but  that  his  heart  was  enlarged  towards  the  "Far 
"West."    They  are  in  these  words : — 

"  My  soul  is  blessed  with  continued  consolation  and 
peace  in  all  my  great  weakness  of  body,  and  crowds  of 
company.  I  am  a  debtor  to  the  whole  continent,  but 
more  especially  to  the  north-east  and  south-west ;  it  is 
there  I  usually  gain  health,  and  lose  it  in  the  south  and 
centre.  I  have  visited  the  south  thirty  times  in  thirty- 
one  years.  I  wish  to  visit  Mississippi ;  but  am  resigned 
.  .  .  .  My  eyes  fail.  I  will  resign  the  stations  to 
Bishop  M'Kendree.  I  will  take  away  my  feet.  .  .  . 
It  is  my  fifty-fifth  year  of  ministry,  and  forty-fifth  of 
labour  in  America.  ...  I  die  daily,  but  my 
consolations  are  great.  I  live  in  God  from  moment  to 
moment." 

Notwithstanding  this  resolution  to  "take  away  his 
feet,"  and  give  place  unto  another,  he  still  continued 
his  journeys,  until  after  riding  forty-three  miles  one 
day  over  a  rough  and  jolting  road,  he  said,  **  This  will 
not  do — I  must  halt,  or  order  my  grave."  Yet  he  per- 
severed, fearing  to  lose  the  last  remnant  of  his  life 
from  useful  service,  until  he  reached  Virginia,  where 
he  preached  his  last  sermon  only  a  few  di^ys  before 
his  death.    "When  his  friends  beheld  him  in  his  feeble- 


I 


166 


W 


METHODIST  LABOUBBBS  IN  AMEBIGA. 


ness,  they  besought  him  not  to  preach ;  but  he  replied 
that  "  God  had  given  him  work  to  do  there,  and  he 
must  once  more  deliver  his  testimony  in  that  place." 
And  like  as  the  "  beloved  disciple"  St.  John,  according 
to  the  relation  of  Jerome,  was  carried  in  the  arms  of 
the  early  Christians  to  their  place  of  meeting  and 
placed  before  the  people,  when  old  age  disabled  him 
from  walking,  so  the  devoted  Methodists  of  Kichmond 
carried  the  dying  Asbury  in  their  arms  to  the  house  of 
God ;  and  when  they  had  placed  him  on  a  table  inside 
the  pulpit,  he  preached,  in  tremulous  tones,  to  a  weeping 
congregation,  from  the  signal  words,  "  For  He  will 
finish  the  work,  and  cut  it  short  in  righteousness: 
because  a  short  work  will  He  make  in  the  earth." 
He  was  then  carried  back  from  the  pulpit;  and  on 
the  next  Sabbath — ^after  travelling  on  alternate  days 
till  he  reached  the  house  of  his  friend,  Mr.  George 
Arnold — when  bowing  himself  upon  his  bed  to  worship, 
and,  like  Jacob,  leaning  upon  his  sta£P,  he  looked  up 
joyfully  to  his  companion,  and  raising  both  hands  to 
heaven  in  holy  triumph,  he  passed  into  the  joy  of  his 

Lord.  ,        '      \  ■_  ,•,  ;.,l;  V 

Bishop  Asbury  was  in  his  seventy- first  year  ;  and  his 
death  occurred  on  the  21st  day  of  March,  1816.  He 
was,  at  first,  interred  at  Spottsylvania,  ir  Virginia, 
the  place  where  he  died.  Afterwards,  by  the  direction 
of  the  Conference,  his  remains  were  brought  to  Balti- 
more, and  deposited  within  a  vault  under  the  recess 
for  the  pulpit,  in  Eautaw  Street  Church,  when  a  funeral 
address  was  delivered  over  them,  to  the  ministers  assem- 
bled, by  Bishop  M'Kendree.  In  the  church  was  placed 
a  written  memorial  of  his  name,  labours,  and  death. 
Since  then  his  bones  have  been  removed  to  the  Mount 


•^ 


M- 


n 


s, 


MBTUODIST  LABOURERS  IN  AMERICA. 


167 


of  Olives  Cemetery,  as  T  have  already  stated ;  and  there, 
with  the  bodies  of  other  bishops  of  his  beloved  Church, 
his  mortal  relics  seem  to  have  found  a  last  resting-place, 
wherein  to  await  their  great  change  into  a  "  spiritual 
body." 

Many  interesting  anecdotes  are  related  of  this  good 
bishop  from  the  memories  of  his  survivors,  and  these 
reminiscences  of  him  are  vividly  illustrative  of  his 
excellent  character.      Some  of  them  very  affectingly 
show  his  benevolent  attention  to  the  poor  degraded  sons 
and  daughters  of  Africa,  and  are  truly  honourable  to 
him.     It  is  clear  that  he  was  never  neglectful  of  them, 
wherever  he  went;  and  that  he  not  only  prayed  and 
conversed  with  the  master  in  his  house  and  in  his  par- 
lour, but  also  with  the  slave  in  the  kitchen,  the  field, 
and  the  log-hut.     On  one  occasion  he  observes,  in  his 
journal,  "  I  was  exceedingly  happy  last  evening  with 
the  poor  slaves  in  brother  Wells'  kitchen,  while  our 
white  brother  (a   young  minister  of  the  circuit)  held 
a  sacramental  love-feast  up-stairs.     I  must  be  mindful 
of  the  poor :   this  is  the  will  of  God  concerning  me." 
But  his  attention  to  these  poor  outcasts,  and  the  great 
harvest  of  good  that  may  spring  from  way- side  sowing 
of  the  word  of  life  among  them,  appeared  very  fully 
in  his  conduct  towards  a  notoriously  wicked  negro, 
whom  he  one  day  found  by  the  road-side,  as  he  was 
riding  to  Charleston,  in  South  Carolina ;  and  who  was 
not  only  brought  to  seriousness  and  reformation  of  life, 
but  became  successful  in  winning  many  of  his  own 
dark  race  to  the  love  of  the  Saviour.    The  relation  is  as 
follows : — 

Bishop  Asbury  came  up  to  this  negro,   who  was 
sitting  on  a  bank,  fishing  in  a  creek,  and  whistling  to 


168 


METHODIST   LABOURERS  IN  AMERICA. 


himself  a  merry  jig  tune.  The  bishop  pulled  up  his 
horse,  and  turned  it  aside  to  drink.  While  the  horse 
was  drinking,  the  bishop  began  to  enter  into  conversa- 
tion with  the  dark  fisherman,  asking  what  was  his 
name.  "  Punch,"  was  the  reply.  "  Do  you  ever  pray  P" 
inquired  Asbury.  "  No,  massa,"  answered  the  negro, 
with  a  vague  look  that  showed  he  hardly  knew  the 
meaning  of  tho  question.  The  bishop  at  once  dis- 
mounted, sat  down  on  the  bank  beside  the  slave,  and 
spoke  to  him  earnestly  on  the  evil  of  sin  and  its 
danger,  and  on  the  way  of  salvation  by  Christ  Jesus, 
until  the  tears  flowed  swiftly  down  the  black  man's 
face,  and  he  began  to  cry  to  God  to  have  mercy  on  him. 
Asbury  now  sang,  by  his  side,  several  verses  of  the 
hymn,  commencing — 

"  Plunged  in  a  gulf  of  dark  despair, 
We  wretched  sinners  lay." 

This  thoroughly  subdued  Punch,  insomuch  that  his 
tears  flowed  faster,  and  his  heart  melted  into  sorrow. 
The  bishop  then  explained  to  him  the  way  of  faith  in 
Christ ;  and,  after  giving  him  suitable  directions,  prayed 
with  him,  and  bade  him  an  affectionate  farewell.  The 
evangelist  and  the  negro  did  not  meet  again  until 
twenty-five  years  afterwards,  when  Punch  obtained  leave 
to  quit  the  rice-field  in  order  to  make  a  visit  to  Charles- 
ton, where  the  bishop  then  was,  and  whither  *he  negro 
walked  sixty  or  seventy  miles  to  see  him.  But,  to 
pursue  the  story  in  order : — When  Bishop  Asbury  left 
Punch  at  the  side  of  the  creek,  the  negro  quickly  drew 
up  his  fishing-line,  and  went  to  his  hut ;  for  the  Holy 
Spirit  was  working  eftectually  in  the  depths  of  his  soul. 
"  I  began  tink,"  he  said  afterwards,  "  'fore  I  get  home 


I 


I 


f 


!■ 


1 


I 


METHODIST  LABOURERS  IN   AMERICA. 


169 


Punch  be  gone  to  hell."  Following  the  directions  of 
his  spiritual  instructor,  he  now  prayerfully  and  un- 
ceasingly sought  forgiveness  through  the  blood  of 
Christ;  and,  after  a  few  days,  he  joyfully  obtained 
redemption  through  that  blood,  even  the  pardon  of  his 
sins. 

Feeling  the  blessedness  of  his  new  state,  he  could  not 
refrain  from  speaking  of  it  to  others.  It  seemed  a 
strange  tale  for  Punch,  who  had  been  so  notoriously 
wicked,  to  tell  to  his  fellow-slaves.  But  they  saw  that 
he  was  a  changed  and  a  happy  man ;  and  by  degrees 
they  gathered  round  him,  and  heard  with  seriousness 
what  he  had  to  say.  One  after  another  began  to  pray, 
and  then  to  rejoice,  until,  at  length,  large  congrega- 
tions collected  round  the  door  of  Punch's  cabin  for  reli- 
gious conversation  and  prayer ;  and  soon,  without 
intending  it.  Punch  became  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel. 
Standing  at  the  door  of  his  hut,  he,  night  after  night, 
proclaimed  the  good  news  of  sanation  to  crowds  of  his 
brother  negroes.  "  >;  •    •  '    ""    :  ;>  i>    % 

This  awakened  the  ire  of  the  overseer  of  the  estate, 
and  he  set  himself  to  put  down  Punch's  preaching  and 
the  effects  of  it  among  the  slaves.  And  now  poor 
Pu  ' '.  could  only  speak  and  pray  with  a  few  that  might 
hide  themselves  in  his  narrow  cabin.  One  night,  when 
thus  engaged,  to  his  alarm  he  heard  the  persecuting 
overseer  call  him,  and  he  went  forth  fully  expecting  to 
be  flogged;  but,  behold!  when  he  opened  the  door, 
there  lay  the  overseer,  writhing  on  the  ground,  under 
conviction  for  sin,  and  crying  out,  "  Punch,  will  you 
pray  for  me  P"  and,  as  may  readily  be  supposed.  Punch 
most  gladly  and  earnestly  complied.  "  I  cry,  I  pray, 
I  shout  I "  he  used  afterwards  to  relate ;  "  I  beg  de  Lord 


170 


METHODIST   LABOURERS  IN  AMERICA. 


to  hear.  De  overseer  rise,  trow  him  arms  round  me  ; 
and  don  he  tank  God,  and  tank  Punch  I "  This  over- 
seer afterwards  joined  the  Methodist  Ohurch,  became 
an  exhorter,  and  afterwards  a  preacher. 

For  some  years,  the  devoted  negro's  course  for  reli- 
gious usefulness  was  freely  open ;  and,  having  been  long 
known  to  them,  he  continued  to  win  his  companions  in 
bondage  to  newness  of  life.  His  owner  dying,  he  passed 
into  the  possession  of  another,  and  was  removed  to  an 
entirely  new  field  for  labour.  There,  however,  as  before, 
by  zealous,  persevering  goodness,  he  won  the  confidence 
of  those  who  were  over  him,  and  the  ears  and  hearts  of 
his  fellow-slaves,  who,  like  the  others,  resorted  to  him 
for  religious  instruction  and  worship. 

Several  years  after,  when  Punch  had  grown  old,  a 
Methodist  minister  was  sent  to  that  part  of  the  coxmtry, 
and  was  requested  to  visit  the  plantation.  The  minister 
sought  first  the  cabin  of  this  veteran  Methodist  negro, 
of  whom  he  had  previously  heard.  He  asked  a  negro 
herdsman  if  any  preacher  lived  on  the  ground,  "  O  yes, 
massa,  de  old  bushup  lib  here,"  answered  the  man, 
pointing  to  Punch's  cottage,  "  he  be  good  preacher. 
De  word  burn  we  heart!"  The  minister  knocked  at 
the  cabin-door,  and  immediately  heard  tottering  foot- 
steps, and  a  sound  of  a  cane  on  the  floor.  The  door 
opened,  and  there  within  stood  a  trembling  grey-headed 
old  black  man,  leaning  upon  a  staff. 

When  informed  of  the  office  of  his  visitor,  Punch 
was  silent  with  the  overflow  of  grateful  feeling ;  and, 
looking  up  to  heaven  with  his  dark  eyes  beaming  with 
rapture,  he  at  last  burst  into  tears,  and  exclaimed, 
**  Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in  peace, 
for  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation  1 "    The  minister 


«l  . 


METHODIST  LABOURERS  IN  AMERICA. 


171 


was  overpowered  by  what  he  saw,  and  stood  like  one 
confused,  not  knowing  what  to  reply.  Punch  invited 
him  in,  and  explained  to  him  the  meaning  of  the 
exclamation,  by  saying,  "I  have  many  children  in 
this  place.  My  end  is  nigh,  and  I  have  looked  round 
me  in  vain  for  some  one  to  take  my  place  and  preach 
to  them.  I  prayed  to  God  to  send  some  one,  and  I  felt 
as  though  I  could  not  die  until  He  did.  lie  has  heard 
my  prayer,  and  sent  you.  So  I  am  now  ready  to 
depart." 

Very  soon  afterwards  his  departure  arrived.  He 
seemed  almost  to  know  when  it  would  come  ;  for,  on 
the  morning  of  the  Sabbath  on  which  he  died,  he  said, 
joyously,  "  I  shall  die  this  day ! "  Many  weeping 
negroes  crowded  round  his  low,  scanty  bed,  and  heard 
his  dying  words.  Again  and  again  he  repeated  the 
grateful  words  of  Simeon — "  Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy 
servant  depart  in  peace !"  And  as  his  redeemed  and 
enfranchised  spirit  escaped  from  the  dark,  captive 
tabernacle  in  which  it  had  lodged,  his  quivering  lips 
were  repeating,  "  Let  thy  servant  depart  in  peace — 
Let— let— 1—." 


-■•(l^f:. 


■'M 


v\ 


LETTER   XL 

METHODIST  LABOURERS  IN  AMERICA. 


Bishop  M'Kcndrce— Clearness  of  his  Conversioa — Doubts  his  Call  to  the 
Ministry — His  Prejudices  against  Bishop  Asbury  dispelled,  and  his  entire 
devotedness  to  Methudistn—  His  Labours  in  the  West,  and  his  personal 
Holiness  and  Success — Elected  Bishop — Companionship  with  Asbury — 
Pleasing  Camp-meeting  Scene — M'Kendree's  Farewell  to  his  Brethren — 
His  last  Days  and  happy  Departure — Bishop  George — Habits  of  Prayer 
— Powers  as  a  Preacher — Kindliness  of  Spirit — Anecdote  of  the  Young 
Preacher  and  the  Bishop — Freeborn  Gurrettson — His  happy  Face  and 
happy  Character — Remarkable  Conversion — Sets  Free  his  Negroes — His 
Ministry — Suffering  for  Christ — Pleasant  old  Age — Rapturous  Death — 
Jesse  Lee — Bishop  Roberts — Bishop  Hedding — Bishop  Emory — Joha 
Easter— Dr.  Stephen  Oliu,  &c. 


The  name  held  in  most  regard  and  reverence,  next  to 
that  of  Asbury,  among  American  Methodists,  is  that  of 
his  colleague  and  successor.  Bishop  M'Kendree.  His 
memory  is  more  immediately  identified  with  the  West, 
of  which  he  was  one  of  the  chief  Gospel  pioneers.  No 
formal  memoir  of  him  has  yet  been  written,  though  love 
for  him  seems  to  exist  in  every  Methodist  heart.  He  was, 
pre-eminently,  a  devoted,  laborious,  eloquent,  and  suc- 
cessful minister  of  Christ.  In  person,  he  is  described 
as  having  been  above  the  average  height ;  and  though 
his  bearing  is  said  to  have  been  impressive  and  dignified, 


METHODIST   LAUOUBERS  IN  AMERICA. 


178 


yet  his  intelligent  face  was  remarkable  for  openness ; 
and  his  large  fulling  rolls  of  d&rk  hair  gave  him  a  cast 
of  manly  beauty.  His  voice  is  said  to  have  boon  one  of 
remarkable  sweetness  and  power. 

He  was  born  in  the  State  of  Virginia,  in  the  year 
1757,  and  was  an  adjutant  in  the  American  army  during 
the  war  of  Independence.  When  thirty  years  of  age, 
he  was  brought  to  God  under  the  preaching  of  a 
"  Boanerges"  who  then  travelled  in  that  part  of  the 
country,  of  the  name  of  John  Easter,  and  from  that 
time  to  the  end  of  his  life  M'Kendree  was  a  faithful 
soldier  of  the  Cross.  The  work  of  conversion  was 
thoroughly  accomplished  within  him.  Like  the  re- 
pentant Saul  of  Tarsus,  he  was  three  days  and  three 
nights  fasting,  praying,  and  restlessly  agonizing  for  the 
forgiveness  of  his  sins.  At  the  expiration  of  this  period 
he  was  enabled  to  trust  in  Christ  for  salvation,  and 
received  the  clear  and  full  witness  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
that  his  past  offences  were  pardoned  and  that  he  was 
adopted  into  God's  spiritual  family.  Soon  after  this  he 
felt  risings  of  evil  within  ;  but,  by  persevering  reliance 
upon  the  blood  of  Christ  which  cleanses  from  all  sin, 
he  obtained  power  to  overcome  and  mortify  to  the 
death  nil  carnal  passions,  and  to  devote  himself,  body 
and  soul,  wholly  to  the  service  of  the  Lord. 

When  he  first  began  to  call  sinners  to  repentance,  he 
was  strongly  tempted  to  desist  from  so  doing  with  the 
belief  that  he  was  not  chosen  for  so  high  and  holy  a 
work ;  and  through  the  discouraging  remarks  of  some 
who  heard  him,  he  prepared  to  return  home  for  other 
employment.  But  God  so  signally  owned  his  labours  at 
this  crisis,  that  neither  he  nor  the  people  could  longer 
doubt  that  he  was  truly  called  of  God  to  labour  in  the 


\  \ 


174 


METHODIST  LABOURERS  IN  AMERICA. 


Gospel  vineyard.     A  few  years  after  he  had  regularly 
entered  on  the  work  of  the  itinerant  ministry,  his  mind 
was  warped  against  Bishop  Asbury,  and  he  tendered 
his  resignation.     This  was  owing  to  a  discontented 
preacher  of  the  name  of  O'Kelly,  who  misrepresented 
Asbury's  faithfulness  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty  as  an 
abuse  of  his  episcopal  authority.     M'Kendree,  however, 
was  taken  to  accompany  Asbury  where  he  could  see  the 
good  bishop's  life  and  conduct  for  himself.     He  became 
satisfied  of  the  incorrectness  of  O'Kelly's  representa- 
tions ;  felt  that  Asbury's  conduct  and  character  were 
noble  -    1  truly  Christian ;  acknowledged  it ;  and  set 
himself  to  understand  thoroughly  the  whole  system  of 
Methodism.   And  now,  without  wavering,  he  gave  him- 
self fully  to  the  itinerant  work ;  and  laboured,  most 
zealously  and  successfully,  first  as  a  circuit-preacher, 
and  then  as  a  presiding  elder,  in  the  extensive  district 
between  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  West,  and  Chesa- 
peake Bay,  East, — a  district  the  care  of  which  necessi- 
tated frequent,  prolonged,  and  very  difficult  journeying. 
Bishops  Asbury  and  Whatcoat  had  already  perceived 
the  importance  of  the  great  Western  valley  beyond  the 
Alleghany  Mountains ;  and  finding  M'Kendree  to  be 
exactly  the  sort  of  labourer  they  desired  for  it,  they 
appointed  him  to  accompany  them  into  that  district ; 
and  it  was  they  also  who  appointed  him  to  be  presiding 
elder  there.     At  three  hours'  notice,  without  books,  or 
a  change  of  clothes,  which  were  far  away  from  him, 
he  set  off  on  his  long  and  arduous  journey,  with  these 
two  venerable,  and  now,  through  age  and  toil,  infirm, 
servants  o^  Christ.     And  here,  in  Kentucky,  Tennessee, 
and  Ohio,  he  preached  and  laboured  with  amazing  power 
and  success.     He  used  to  gather  large  multitudes  from 


METHODIST  LABOURERS  IN   AMERICA. 


176 


many  luuet}  around,  assemble  them  in  the  forest,  and 
there,  under  the  overhanging  trees,  preach  the  most 
powerful  sermons,  until  hundreds  of  his  hearers,  stricken 
with  a  deep  sense  of  their  sinful  condition,  made  the 
woods  ring  with  their  cries  to  God  for  mercy. 

And  as  for  the  preacher  himself,  there  were  seasons, 
it  is  said,  when  he  was  so  filled  and  overpowered  with 
the  glory  of  God,  that  his  face  seemed  to  shine  as  an 
angel's;  and  he  would  sink  down  upon  the  ground, 
silent  and  almost  breathless  with  spiritual  awe  and 
heavenly  rapture.  All  who  knew  him  and  heard  him, 
unhesitatingly  testify  that  he  was  a  most  eloquent  and 
powerful  preacher.  His  noble  frame,  they  relate,  used 
to  quiver  under  the  thrilling  thoughts  he  uttered  on  the 
great  truths  of  God  ;  and  his  preaching  was  in  "  the 
demonstration  of  the  Spirit,  and  with  power."  As  far  as 
I  can  judge  from  what  I  have  learned  concerning  him, 
he  must  have  been  a  bright  exemplar  of  personal 
holiness  :  he  seems  to  have  lived  as  if  daily  within  the 
holy  place,  and  t')  have  come  forth  as  with  sweetly- 
perfumed  garments  from  within  the  veil.  Joined  with 
such  a  rich  experience  of  sanctifying  and  gladdening 
religion,  there  can  be  no  wonder  that  the  eloquence  of 
this  great  preacher  was  so  blessedly  persuasive  ;  and  that 
he  was  not  only  instrumental  in  the  spiritual  awaken- 
ing of  hundreds,  but  happily  useful  in  building  up 
believers,  and  stimulating  them  to  higher  acquirements 
in  holiness.  His  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures  was  also 
verj'^  comprehensive ;  and  this,  again,  would  insure  his 
usefulness,  as  it  would  render  him  able  to  meet  the 
cases  alike  of  the  unconverted,  the  penitent,  or  the  be- 
liever, and  apply  to  them  the  very  words  they  needed, 
fresh  from  the  mouth  of  God  Himself. 


\\ 


176 


METHODIST  LABOURERS  IN  AMEhlOA. 


It  was  clear  to  all  who  knew  him  that  ii  .  ondree 
was  designed,  by  the  all- wise  Governor  of  the  Church, 
to  be  a  leader  in  Israel ;  and  that  by  his  years  of 
labour  and  suffering,  as  well  as  by  the  heart  of  sympathy 
he  manifested  for  his  brethren  in  their  itinerant  trials, 
he  had  the  full  preparation  and  fitness  for  the  office 
of  a  general  superintendent.  Accordingly,  when  at  the 
Conference  of  1808,  in  Baltimore,  the  place  of  the  de- 
ceased Bishop  "Whatcoat  had  to  be  filled  up,  he  was 
elected  to  the  office  of  bishop.  It  would  appear  from 
Dr.  Bangs'  relation  of  the  election,  that  M'Kendree,  on 
coming  to  the  Conference,  was  stjarcely  known  to  his 
brethren,  from  the  fact  of  his  having  spent  so  many 
years  entirely  in  the  West.  He  was  not,  therefore,  at 
first  thought  of  by  the  majority  of  preachers  as  Bishop 
Whatcoat's  successor.  Dr.  Bangs  goes  on  to  describe 
how  the  preachers  were  led  to  fix  upon  him.  M'Kendree 
was  appointed  to  preach  in  Light  Street  Church,  Balti- 
more, on  the  Sabbath  before  the  election  of  a  bishop  was 
to  be  made  in  the  Conference. 


"  The  house,"  says  Dr.  Bangs,  "  was  crowded  with  people  in  every  part, 
above  and  below,  eager  to  hear  the  stranger,  and,  among  others,  most  of  the 
members  of  the  General  Conference  were  present,  besides  a  number  of 
coloured  people  who  occupied  a  second  gallery  in  the  front  end  of  the  church. 
Bishop  M'Kendree  entered  the  pulpit,  at  the  hour  for  commencing  the  ser- 
vices, clothed  in  very  coarse  and  homely  garments,  which  he  had  worn  in 
the  woods  of  the  West ;  and  after  singing,  he  kneeled  in  prayer.  As  was 
often  the  case  with  him  when  he  commenced  his  prayer,  he  seemed  to  falter 
in  his  speech,  clipping  some  of  his  words  at  the  end,  and  hanging  upon  a 
syllable  as  if  it  were  difficult  for  him  to  pronounce  the  word.  I  looked  at 
him  not  without  some  feeling  of  distrust,  thinking  to  myself,  '  I  wonder 
what  awkward  backwoodsman  they  have  put  into  the  pulpit  this  morning,  to 
disgrace  us  with  his  mawkish  manners  and  uncouth  piiraseology.'  This  feel- 
ing of  distrust  did  not  forsake  me  until  some  minutes  after  he  had  an- 
nounced his  text,  which  contained  the  following  words : — '  For  the  hurt  of 


METHODIST   LABOURERS   IN   AMERICA. 


17? 


the  daughter  of  my  people  am  I  hurt ;  I  am  hlack ;  astonishment  hath  takea 
hold  of  me.  Is  tliere  no  balm  in  Gilead ;  is  there  no  physician  there?  Why, 
then,  is  not  the  health  of  the  daughter  of  my  people  recovered  ? ' 

"  His  introduction  appeared  tame,  his  sentences  hroken  and  disjointed,  and 
his  elocution  very  defective.  He  at  length  introduced  h's  main  subject, 
which  was  to  show  the  spiritual  disease  of  the  Jewish  church,  and  of  the 
human  family  generally ;  and  then  he  entered  upon  his  second  proposition, 
which  was  to  analyze  the  feelings  which  such  a  state  of  things  awakened  in 
the  souls  of  God's  faithful  ambassadors  ;  but  when  he  came  to  speak  of  the 
blessed  effects,  upon  the  heart,  of  the  balm  which  God  had  provided  for  the 
'  healing  of  the  nations,'  he  seemed  to  enter  fully  into  the  element  in 
which  his  soul  delighted  to  move  and  have  its  being,  and  he  soon  canned 
the  whole  congregation  away  with  him  into  the  regions  of  experimental 
religion. 

"  Remarking  upon  the  objections  which  some  would  make  to  the  expression 
of  the  feelings  realised  by  a  person  fully  restored  to  health  by  an  applica- 
tion of  the  '  sovereign  balm  for  every  wound,'  he  referred  to  the  shouts  of 
applause  so  often  heard  upon  our  national  jubilee,  in  commemoration  of  our 
emancipation  from  political  thraldom,  and  then  said,  '  How  much  more 
cause  has  an  immortal  soul  to  rejoice  and  give  glory  to  God  for  its  spiritual 
deliverance  from  the  bondage  of  sin  ! '  This  was  spoken  with  such  au 
emphasis,  with  a  soul  overflowing  with  the  most  hallowed  and  exalted  feel- 
ings, that  it  was  like  the  sudden  bursting  of  a  cloud  surcharged  with  water, 
and  the  congregation  was  instantly  overwhelmed  with  a  shower  of  divine 
grace  from  the  upper  world.  At  first  sudden  shrieks,  as  of  persons  in  dis- 
tress, were  heard  in  different  parts  of  the  house ;  then  shouts  of  praise,  and 
in  every  direction  sobs  and  groans,  and  eyes  overflowing  with  tears,  while 
many  were  prostrated  upon  the  floor,  or  lay  helpless  upon  the  seats.  A  very 
large  athletic  looking  preacher,  who  was  sitting  by  my  side,  suddenly  fell  upon 
his  seat  as  if  pierced  by  a  bullet ;  and  I  felt  my  heart  melting  under  sensa- 
tions which  I  could  not  well  resist. 

"After  this  sudden  shower  the  clouds  were  dicsparted,  and  the  Sun  of 
righteousness  shoue  out  most  serenely  and  delightfully,  producing  upon  all 
present  a  consciousness  of  the  Divine  approbation :  and  when  the  preacher 
descended  from  the  pulpit,  all  were  filled  with  adaiiration  of  his  talents,  and 
were  ready  to  '  magnify  the  grace  of  God  in  him,'  as  a  chosen  messenger 
of  good  tidings  to  the  lost,  saying  in  their  hearts,  '  This  is  the  man  whom 
God  delights  to  honour' " 

At  the  close  of  the  service,  Bishop  Asbury  was  heard 
to  say,  "  That  sermon  will  make  him  a  bishop."     And 

N 


w 


178 


METHODIST  LABOURERS  IN  AMERICA. 


it  did ;  for  the  worthiness  of  the  life  and  character  of 
the  preacher  was  canvassed  and  duly  estimated,  after 
his  brethren  had  witnessed  the  eloquence  and  power  of 
his  preaching  ;  and  in  the  week  following  they  elected 
him  by  a  large  majority.  This  was  deeply  gratifying  to 
Bishop  Asbury ;  and  he  recorded  in  his  journal — "  The 
burden  is  now  borne  by  two  pairs  of  shoulders,  instead 
of  one :  the  care  is  cast  upon  two  heads  and  hearts." 
These  two  bishops,  Asbury  and  M'Kendree,  travelled 
together  to  superintend  the  Churches,  and  to  cry  aloud 
for  God  in  the  wilderness,  through  the  different  States, 
and  in  Canada.  "Within  eight  months,  in  one  tour,  they 
travelled  ovei  6000  miles,  attended  the  sessions  of  nine 
Conferences,  and  publicly  assisted  at  several  camp- 
meetings.  To  do  this  they  passed  over  the  old  diffi- 
culties of  mountains,  swamps,  forests,  and  prairies,  and 
crossed  the  Rivers  Ohio  and  Mississippi,  as  well  as  the 
northern  lakes.  Their  work  cheered  them  in  its  rich 
results,  as  Bishop  Asbury  declared. 

"  My  flesh  sinks  under  labour,"  says  the  veteran 
evangelist.      "  We  are  riding  in  a  poor  thirty-dollar 

chaise,  in  partnership But  it  must  be  confessed 

that  it  tallies  well  with  our  purses.  What  bishops ! 
Well :  but  we  have  great  news,  and  we  have  great 
times ;  and  each  Western,  Southern,  together  with  the 
Virginian  Conference,  will  have  1000  souls  truly  con- 
verted to  God.  Is  not  this  an  equivalent  for  a  light 
purse  ?  And  are  we  not  well  paid  for  starving  and  toil  ? 
Yes :   glory  to  God  ! " 

At  one  of  the  camp-meetings  which  M'Kendree  at- 
tended about  this  time,  a  fact  occurred  which  brought 
into  beautiful  display  the  tender  sympathy  he  always 
felt  for  broken-hearted  seekers  of  salvation.    The  camp- 


METHODIST  LABOURERS  IN  AMERICA. 


179 


l> 


meeting  was  held  on  a  farm  in  Ohio ;  and,  on  the 
Monday  morning,  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
was  solemnly  administered,  in  the  open  air,  to  a  very 
large  number  of  communicants,  assembled  from  all 
the  surrounding  parts  of  the  country.  The  ministers 
first  surrounded  the  table,  and  received  from  Bishop 
M'Kendree  the  emblems  and  memorials  of  their  Saviour's 
love.  Afterwards,  with  him,  they  administered  to  the 
midtitude  which  came  up  in  companies  to  partake  of 
the  blessed  ordinance.  The  scene  was  devoutly  impres- 
sive ;  and  a  silence  pervaded  it  that  was  only  occa- 
sionally broken  by  the  grateful  exclamations  of  joyful 
and  worshipping  believers.  But  beyond  the  circle  of 
19  \  ministers  and  communicants  sat  a  lady  leaning  her 

head  upon  the  shoulder  of  her  converted  sister,  and 
sobbing  as  if  her  heart  would  break,  with  sorrow  for 
her  sins,  as  she  looked  upon  the  affecting  scene  before 
her  of  hundreds  who  were  so  happily  and  gratefully  re- 
ceiving the  tokens  of  the  Redeemer's  love.  The  eyes 
of  the  bishop  fell  upon  the  penitent.  "  Come  here,  my 
child,"  he  exclaimed,  "  and  kneel  at  the  foot  of  the  cross, 
where  you  shall  find  mercy ! "  She  publicly  asked,  if  so 
vile  a  sinner  as  she  felt  herself  to  be  might  draw  near,  and 
receive  into  her  unholy  hands  the  emblems  of  Christ's 
dying  love.  "  Yes,  my  child,"  replied  M'Kendree,  "  it 
was  for  just  such  sinners  as  you  that  the  blessed  Jesus 
died  ;  and  thus  in  his  last  agony  he  demonstrated  his 
power  and  willingness  to  save  the  vilest  of  the  vile  by 
snatching  the  penitent  malefactor  from  the  verge  of 
hell."  "  Then  I'll  go  to  Christ ! "  said  the  weeping 
penitent ;  and  pressing  through  the  crowd,  she  bowed 
down  at  the  table  of  the  Lord.  The  bishop  gave  to 
her  the  broken  bread,  and  then  the  cup, — himself  in 


180 


METHODIST  LABOURERS  IN  AMERICA. 


tears,  and  looking  up  to  heaven  in  her  behalf.  As  she 
drank  at  the  cup,  the  divine  assurance  of  salvation  was 
given  to  her  soul;  and,  with  a  countenance  radiant 
with  holy  joy  and  intelligence,  she  immediately  rose 
from  her  knees,  and  told  what  God  had  done  for  her 
soul,  in  a  strain  which  caused  the  whole  multitude  of 
communicants  to  utter  a  shout  of  praise  to  the  Almighty 
and  merciful  Deliverer. 

For  eight  years,  these  two  bishops  were  united  in  the 
general  superintendency  of  the  American  Methodist 
Church ;  at  the  end  of  which  period  Bishop  Asbury 
"  took  away  his  feet,"  as  he  said,  and  resigned  his  work 
to  his  brother  M'Kendree,  who  now,  in  turn,  became 
the  patriarch  among  American  Methodists. 

M'Kendree's  excessive  labours  in  the  difficult  West 
had  told  upon  his  constitution,  and  it  soon  became 
evident  that  his  career  also  was  drawing  to  a  close. 
Bishops  Enoch  George  and  Robert  R.  Roberts,  had  been 
associated  with  him  in  his  arduous  work,  and  his  friends 
entreated  him  to  rest.  But,  like  a  true  Methodist 
pastor,  he  felt  his  heart  was  in  itinerant  labour ;  and 
he  would  continue  to  travel  on  in  his  rounds,  though 
in  doing  so  the  slightest  jolt  upon  the  rugged  road 
pierced  him  with  most  acute  pain.  More  than  once  he 
returned  to  his  native  county  to  die  ;  but,  on  recovering 
a  little  strength,  he  left  it  again  to  travel  and  labour. 

At  the  Conference  of  1832,  in  Philadelphia,  Bishop 
M'Kendree  met  his  brethren  in  their  general  assembly 
for  the  last  time,  and  delivered  to  them  his  farewell 
words.  Dr.  Bangs,  in  his  "History  of  American 
Methodism,"  has  thus  beautifully  described  the  scene 
which  he  there  beheld : — 

Like  a  patriarch  in  the  midst  of  his  family,  with 


(( 


METHODIST   LABOURERS  IN  AMERICA. 


181 


his  head  silvered  over  with  the  frosts  of  seventy-fivo 
winters,  and  a  countenance  beaming  with  intelligence 
and  good-will,  he  (Bishop  M'Kendree)  delivered  his 
valedictory  remarks,  which  are  remembered  with  lively 
emotions.  Kising  from  his  seat  to  take  his  departure 
the  day  before  the  Conference  adjourned,  he  halted  for 
a  moment,  leaning  on  his  staff.  With  faltering  lips, 
and  his  eyes  swimming  with  tears,  he  said,  *  My  bre- 
thren and  children,  love  one  another !  Let  all  things 
be  done  without  strife  or  vain-glory ;  and  strive  to  keep 
the  unity  of  the  spirit  in  the  bond  of  peace.'  Then 
spreading  forth  his  trembling  hands  and  lifting  his 
eyes  towards  the  heavens  he  pronounced,  with  faltering 
and  affectionate  accents,  the  apostolic  benediction." 
The  ministers  gazed  with  tearful  eyes  upon  his  bending 
form;  and,  as  he  retired,  wept  with  the  thought  that 
they  should  see  his  face  on  earth  no  more. 

Yet,  even  after  this,  so  indomitable  was  the  spirit  of 
this  Christian  hero,  that  he  again  set  out  to  pursue  his 
itinerant  rounds.  At  length  he  went  to  the  house  of 
his  brother.  Dr.  James  M'Kendree,  in  Sumner  County, 
to  die.  Here  he  experienced  intense  sufferings  of 
body ;  and  when  medical  skill  failed  to  relieve  him,  he 
showed  his  undiminished  faith  in  God  by  requesting 
his  friends  to  kneel  beside  his  bed  and  pray  that  he 
might  have  ease.  In  calling  upon  a  friend  and  neigh- 
bour to  do  this,  he  said,  "  Now,  pray  for  me — not  as 
you  pray  in  your  family — but  in  faith,  and  with  direct 
reference  to  my  case."  And  after  the  prayer,  he  said, 
"  It  is  easy  now." 

In  his  last  days  he  was  principally  attended  by  a 
loving  sister ;  and  he  had  also  a  young  niece  who 
watched  him   almost  constantly  as  he  lay  suffering 


I  \ 


182 


METHODIST   LABOURERS  IN  AMERICA. 


upon  his  bed.  "  Frances,"  he  said  to  her  one  day, 
"  you  are  like  a  lamp :  you  wake  when  I  sleep,  to  shine 
upon  me  when  I  wake."  He  seems  to  have  had  very 
strong  family  feelings.  When  he  felt  that  his  death 
was  near,  he  would  have  his  father's  bedstead  brought, 
that  he  might  die  where  his  beloved  parent  had  died. 
On  the  Sabbath  of  the  week  in  which  his  death  occurred, 
his  brother  perceiving  that  his  end  was  near,  told  him 
so ;  and  asked  him  if  he  had  anything  particular  to 
say,  or  any  departing  desire  to  express.  The  cheering 
answer  was,  "  All  is  well  for  time  or  for  eternity.  I 
live  by  faith  in  the  Son  of  God.  For  me  to  live  is 
Christ :  to  die  is  gain."  This  he  repeated  with  delibe- 
rate emphasis,  adding,  "  I  wish  that  point  to  be  per- 
fectly understood — that  all  is  well  with  me,  whether  I 
live  or  die.  For  two  months  I  have  not  had  a  cloud  to 
darken  my  hope;  I  have  uninterrupted  confidence  in 
my  Saviour's  love."  As  expressive  of  his  state,  he 
tried  to  repeat  the  stanza — 

"  Not  a  cloud  doth  arise  to  darken  the  skies,  .<.< 

Or  hide  for  a  moment  the  Lord  from  my  eyes."  , 

But  his  voice  failed ;  and  another  had  to  finish  the  verse 
for  him.  Of  his  burial,  he  said,  "  I  wish  to  be  buried 
in  the  ancient  Methodist  style :  like  an  old  Christian 
minister."  He  continued  to  suffer  until  Thursday, 
when  a  sudden  spasmodic  attack  twitched  up  the  muscle 
of  his  cheek:  he  gently  smoothed  it  down  with  his 
hand,  then  smiled,  and  passed  away  from  earth,  whereon 
he  had  lived  seventy-seven  years.  ,/ .,  .        ^     .  >,.a 


Another  memorable  name  among  early  Methodist 
labourers  in  America,  is  that  of  Bishop  George,  of 
Virginia.    Like  Bishop  M'Kendree,  he  was  converted 


METHODIST  LABOURERS  IN  AMERICA. 


183 


to  God  under  the  zealous  and  successful  evangelist, 
John  Easter.  He  entered  upon  his  itinerant  course  in 
1791  (the  year  of  Mr.  "Wesley's  death),  was  elected  and 
ordained  to  the  office  of  bishop  in  1816,  and  died, 
triumphantly  exclaiming,  "  I  am  going  to  heaven,  and 
that's  enough  I    Glory  I  glory  I" 

In  personal  appearance.  Bishop  George  is  described 
as  large  and  well-proportioned,  with  a  broad  massive 
face,  a  sallow  complexion,  through  exposure  and  fa- 
tigues in  the  open  air,  and  with  thick  neglected  folds 
of  dark  air  hanging  upon  his  neck.  The  strong  lines 
of  his  countenance  were  touched  by  religion  into  soft- 
ness and  gentleness ;  but,  both  in  look  and  quick  ear- 
nest movement,  he  was  ever  seen  to  be  a  man  of  ener- 
getic action.  His  experience  of  the  power  of  inward 
religion  was  deep.  He  spent  much  time  in  secret 
prayer ;  and  often,  like  the  patriarch  Isaac,  would  go 
out  into  the  fields  at  eventide  to  meditate.  His  morn- 
ing hours  before  breakfast  were  regularly  spent  in 
devotional  exercises  ;  and,  like  holy  Thomas  Walsh,  he 
not  unfrequently  rose  at  midnight,  wrapped  his  cloak 
about  him,  and  wrestled  with  God  for  the  salvation  of 
sinners.  This  made  him  a  minister  of  the  Spirit,  and 
the  honoured  instrument  of  the  conversion  of  many. 
Bishop  Geor<^e  does  not  seem  to  have  been  a  man  of 
learning;  but  he  was  endowed  with  an  original  and 
independent  mind,  and  evidently  possessed  the  true 
key  to  usefulness.  He  was  accustomed  to  say,  "  It  is 
the  grammatical  eloquence  of  the  Holy  Ghost  which 
deeply,  lastingly,  and  profitably  affects  the  hearts  of 
men."  His  mastery  over  the  passions  of  his  hearers 
was  great ;  and  he  was  distinguished  especially  for  his 
pathetic  power.     Not  unfrequently,  the  deeps  of  his 


H»Wfc<t  SI  !.-ff^'TJ< 


'  «.«'—nv**aiigvji.fgfe»t--ff»?»ifl>* 


n 


184 


METHODIST   LABOURERS  IN  AMERICA. 


own  soul  would  be  broken  up  within  him  while  he 
preached,  so  that  he  wept,  and  all  were  weeping  around 
him.  These  were  usually  seasons  of  great  spiritual 
good ;  so  that,  if  he  went  forth  sowing  in  tears,  he 
came  again  reaping  in  joy  and  bringing  his  sheaves 
with  him.  Some  of  the  flights  of  his  natural  eloquence 
are  said  to  have  been  not  only  beautiful,  but  inspiring, 
to  all  who  were  looking  for  the  heavenly  country; 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  such  was  the  power  of  his 
denunciation  of  sin,  and  the  force  with  which  he  car- 
ried home  conviction  to  the  conscience,  that  cries  and 
shrieks  of  heart-pierced  sinners  would  often  break  forth 
among  his  congregations  in  all  directions.  Dr.  Hannah 
was  with  him  at  the  General  Conference  of  Baltimore, 
in  1824,  and  has  a  distinct  remembrance  of  eloquent 
passages  in  a  sermon  which  he  then  heard  from  him. 
Among  them  was  a  description  of  St.  John,  whom  the 
bishop  described  as  "  retiring  to  the  Isle  of  Patmos 
covered  with  the  smiles  of  Jesus,  and  filled  with  the 
presence  of  God."  Dr.  Wilbur  Fisk,  who  was  his 
intimate  friend,  wrote  of  him  in  a  lady's  album : — 


"  Bisho2)  George  has  gone  to  heaven.  He  left  this  world  for  glory  on  the 
twenty-third  of  August  last;  and  from  the  known  tendency  of  his  soul 
heavenward,  and  his  joyous  haste  to  be  gone,  there  can  be  little  doubt  but 
his  chariot  of  fire  reached  the  place  of  his  destination  speedily,  and  the 
triumphant  saint  has  long  ere  this  taken  his  seat  with  the  heavenly  company. 
And,  since  he  is  gone,  the  owner  of  this,  to  whom  I  am  a  stranger,  will 
pardon  me  if,  upon  one  of  her  pages,  I  register  my  affectionate  remembrance 
of  a  man  whom  I  both  loved  and  admired,  and  at  the  report  of  whose 
death  my  heart  has  been  made  sick.  I  loved  him,  for  he  was  a  man  of  God, 
devoted  to  the  Church  with  all  his  soul  and  strength.  I  lovril  him,  for  his 
was  an  affectionate  heart,  and  he  was  my  friend :  but  the  seivaut  of  God — 
the  servant  of  the  Church  and  my  friend  is  dead.  J  admired  him,  not  for 
his  learning,  for  he  was  not  a  learned  man  ;  but  nature  had  done  much  for 
him.    She  had  fashioned  his  soul  after  an  enlarged  model,  and  had  given  it 


METHODIST  LABOURERS  IN  AMERICA. 


185 


an  original  ciut  and  on  independent  bearing ;  into  the  heart  she  had  instilled 
the  sweetening  iutlucnccs  of  a  tender  syniimthy,  and  infused  into  the  soul 
the  fire  of  a  spirit-ntirring  zeal,  sustained  by  a  vigorous  and  untiring  energy ; 
but,  to  finish  his  character,  grace  comes  in  and  renews  the  whole  man,  and 
the  Spirit  anointed  him  to  preach  the  Gospel,  and  the  Church  consecrated 
him  to  be  one  of  her  bishops.  He  superintended  with  dignity  and  faithful- 
ness ;  he  preached  the  Gospel  with  the  Holy  Ghost  sent  down  from  heaven. 
The  unction  that  attended  his  word  was  not  merely  like  the  consecrating  oil 
that  ran  down  Aaron's  beard,  but  it  was  like  the  anointing  of  the  spirit  that 
penetrates  the  heart.  He  preached  with  his  soul  full  of  glory.  No  woudftc, 
then,  that  his  dying  words  were,  '  I  am  going  to  heaven,  and  that's  enough  I 
Glory  !  glory !'  Yes,  thou  triumphant  spirit,  that  is  enough.  '  May  I 
die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  ond  may  my  last  end  be  like  his.' " 

There  seem  to  have  been  many  interesting  and  love- 
able  traits  in  Bishop  George's  character.  Among  them 
were  his  kindly  attention  to  the  young,  and  his  prayer- 
ful sympathy  with  the  afflicted  and  distressed.  An 
anecdote  is  related  of  him  in  the  Southern  Ladies'  Com- 
panion, which  exhibits  him  as  a  true  shepherd  of  the 
flock  over  which  the  Holy  Ghost  had  made  him  an 
overseer:  it  also  affords  a  very  significant  lesson  for 
both  preachers  and  people  concerning  the  appointment 
and  reception  of  ministers.  It  relates  to  the  appoint- 
ment which  had  been  made  of  a  young  preacher  to  a 
station  in  Kentucky,  and  which  was  very  unacceptable 
to  the  Methodists  of  the  place.  Like  many  other  ap- 
pointments made  under  similar  circumstances,  it  may 
however  be  observed,  this  eventually  proved  to  be  God's 
own ;  for  He  blessed  it ;  and  that  young  preacher  has 
since  become  eminent  and  useful  in  the  Church  which 
he  has  served. 

The  bishop,  having  learned  how  unwelcome  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  young  man  was  to  the  people,  and 
knowing  how  much  tender  feeling  there  was  in  this 
youth,  who  had  been  unaccustomed  to  cold  receptions  and 


186 


METU0DI8T  LABOURERS  IN  AMERICA. 


unsympathising  treatment,  set  out  with  him  towards  his 
station,  and  rode  with  him  thri,  gh  the  woods  and  alonf 
the  rouds  some  200  miles.  During  theiv  journey  together, 
the  youthful  tLiristor  had  good  opportunity  of  witnesH- 
ing  the  prayer  fulness  of  the  hishop,  and  of  observing 
what  was  the  secret  of  his  spiritual  strength.  When 
about  twelve  miles  from  the  place  of  the  young  man's 
destination,  at  the  house  of  a  frioid,  the  bishop  wai 
attacked  with  asthma,  &n  s^  ot*  to  which  he  was 
liable.  The  usual  remedi-.  ^>  din  noi  ivail ;  and  sending 
for  the  young  preacher  ii;  o  "  '«  luom,  he  directed  his 
attention  to  the  cabl^..! '  description  of  the  New  Jeru- 
salem given  in  the  latter  pait  of  the  book  of  Revela- 
tions, and  requested  him  to  take  his  Bible  with  him  into 
the  grove,  that  he  might  meditate  for  a  season  upon  the 
passage  referred  to,  and  after  that  come  to  him  and 
preach  upon  it ;  fur  said  the  bishop,  "  I  want  to  get 
made  happy:  and  if  my  soul  were  to  be  powerfully 
blessed,  I  believe  it  would  cure  my  poor  body." 

The  young  man,  not  feeling  himself  qualified  to 
preach  on  such  a  sublime  portion  of  the  word  of  God 
to  the  bishop,  begged  to  be  excused,  and  respectfully 
suggested  to  him  that  it  would  be  better  to  avail  him- 
self of  the  oft-tried  expedient  for  being  made  happy — 
that  of  prayer  to  God.  "  Well  then,  my  son,"  said  this 
father  in  Christ,  "go  out  of  the  room,  shut  the  door,  and 
let  me  be  left  alone  for  a  season."  The  door  was  shut, 
and  .t( er  plp^iding  with  God  nlone  for  a  time,  the  holy 
wre'^fler  v.-i'^  heard  -luring  praises  with  a  loud  ami 
triuiixpuant  voice.  His  bodily  malady  was  healed,  as 
he  had  anticipated;  and  he  would  have  his  youthful 
companion  prepare  by  the  next  morning  to  accompany 
him  to  the  appointed  station.  .         . 


MErilODIST   LABOURBUS  IN   AMERICA. 


187 


id  this 
[>,  and 
shut, 
holy 
and 
3d,  as 
ithful 
ipany 


Before  thoir  departure^  the  friend  with  whom  thoy  had 
lodged,  indiscreetly  inFortnvd  the  young  preacher  how 
his  appointineiit  wus  regurded  by  the  people  to  whom 
he  was  going.  Depressed  beyond  measure  by  the  un- 
expected commu^ncation,  li«  instantly  went  to  the  bishop 
and  expressed  to  him  his  firip  clt^termination  not  to  go 
to  a  people  who  thus  so  Hti  giy  objected  to  his  ap- 
poiutmont  The  bishop  »d\  is. ,  Mm  not  to  act  preci- 
pitately on  such  an  imports  nl  n\,i  ^er,  1  \t  to  give  him- 
self to  prayer  for  Divine  dii  ^f Iol  and  to  wait  before 
deciding  what  he  would  Jo  i  lil  !»•  -  should  have  seen 
the  place  and  the  people  Thi  ddvi  e  was  reluctantly 
complied  with. 

Arrived  at  the  new  station,  t/  -  »ere  lodged  to- 
gether a  the  house  of  the  prin  mi  Mi^thodist  there. 
The  next  morning,  as  the  bishop  tM  preparing  for  his 
departure  in  a  room  with  his  hos  nd  as  the  young 
man  was  b  landing  unseen  by  the  »«n  window,  where 
he  could  not  but  hear  what  was  saic  v'  in,  the  bishop 
asked, — "  A^'ell,  my  broth'^r,  how  w  ue  young  man 
I  have  brought  do  for  this  station  r  -"  Not  at  all," 
was  the  instant  reply ;  "  we  migh  as  well  be  left 
without  a  preacher  altogether  as  be  lei  t  to  him." — "  I 
hope  you  will  like  him  better  after  a  li  le,"  said  the 
Jjishop  :  "  I  Will  leave  him  with  you.  Only  treat  him 
well,  and  I  am  persuaded  he  will  be  made  a  blessing  to 
you." — "  I  hav-;  no  objection  to  his  remaining  at  my 
house  for  a  few  weeks,  if  you  desire  it,"  said  the  host, 
"  but  it  will  be  for  no  good,  for  the  people  do  not  want 
him." 

The  young  man  on  hearing  this  was  in  an  agony ; 
and  as  soon  as  the  bishop  came  forth  for  departure,  he 
fpUowed  him  to  a  sheltered  part  of  the  road,  and  said 


^^ 


188 


METHODIST   LABOURERS  IN   AMERICA. 


I   ■ 


t. 


|i   ' 


with  tears,  "  Bishop,  I  cannot  remain — I  heard  what 

passed  in  the  room  between  you  and  Mr. ,  and  you 

must  release  me  ! " — "  Get  your  horse,"  said  the  bishop, 
"  and  ride  with  me  a  part  of  the  way."  This  direction 
was  readily  obeyed  ;  and  the  cherished  purpose  was  to 
ride  away  altogether  from  the  station.  After  proceeding 
together  a  few  miles,  and  after  conversing  freely  to- 
gether upon  the  matter,  they  turned  aside  into  the 
forest  and  prayed  for  direction  and  help  from  above. 
The  presence  of  God  was  manifest ;  and  rising  from  his 
knees,  the  venerable  saint  took  his  young  friend  by  the 
hand,  and  with  a  look  of  paternal  love,  said,  "  My  son, 
I  have  now  a  proposal  to  make  to  you  ;  and  if  you  will 
attend  to  its  conditions,  and  then  still  request  to  be 
removed  from  this  station,  I  will  remove  you.  The 
condition  is  this  :  go  back  to  the  town  where  we  have 
been,  and  remain  there  for  a  month  ;  doing  diligently 
the  work  of  an  evangelist,  fasting  one  day  in  each  week, 
and  spending  an  hour  in  each  day  in  special  prayer  to  God 
that  He  would  make  you  a  blessing  to  the  people.  Can 
you  do  this?"  asked  the  bishop.  "  I  think  I  can," 
said  the  preacher,  trembling.  They  parted — the  bishop 
pursuing  his  way  upon  the  road,  and  the  young  man  re- 
turning with  fear  and  mortification  to  his  station. 

Faithfully  were  the  conditions  of  the  proposal  ful- 
filled ;  but  the  month  seemed  long  and  tedious ;  for  none 
but  one  wicked  man  and  his  wife  gave  to  him  in  that 
time  a  word  of  welcome  or  encouragement.  At  length 
the  last — the  fourth  Sabbath  of  the  month  arrived, 
when  rising  from  the  struggle  of  the  last  covenanted 
hour  of  prayer  for  a  blessing  upon  him  as  a  preacher  in 
that  place,  he  walked  towards  his  attic  window,  which 
commanded  a  view  of  the  Methodist  Church  and  the 


-»AMrj»».'»i*'>.  ••< 


METHODIST  LABOURERS  IN    AMERICA. 


189 


streets  adjoining,  when  to  his  great  surprise  he  saw 
crowds  from  all  directions  flocking  to  the  house  of  God. 
With  mingled  feelings  he  hastened  to  the  pulpit,  won- 
dering what  the  gathering  of  the  people  in  such  large 
numbers  could  mean.  He  took  for  his  text  (Isaiah, 
chap,  vi.,  V.  4), — "  And  the  posts  of  the  door  moved  at 
the  voice  of  him  that  cried."  The  preacher  spake  with 
power  ;  for  in  that  thirtieth  hour  of  special  prayer  for  a 
blessing,  the  live  coal  from  the  Divine  altar  had  touched 
his  lips.  The  people  sobbed  and  rejoiced  in  all  parts  of 
the  Church.  Several  were  in  that  service  convinced  of 
sin  and  converted  to  God.  And  for  the  space  of  four 
weeks  following,  the  stores  and  shops  of  the  place  were 
closed  each  day  for  several  hours,  so  that  the  awakened 
people  might  assemble  together  and  seek  the  Lord. 
Some  hundreds  united  themselves  to  the  Methodist 
Church  of  that  place  ;  and  thus  the  unwelcomed  preacher 
(now  the  Eev.  Dr.  Stevenson)  was  made  by  God,  in 
answer  to  prayer,  an  unspeakable  and  unexpected 
blessing ! 

This  instructive  relation  of  the  conduct  of  Bishop 
George  towards  the  young  preacher,  yields  us  more 
insight  into  the  bishop's  real  character,  than  many 
pages  of  descriptive  portraiture  could  afibrd  ;  and  serves 
to  explain  to  us  the  lasting  remembrance  and  deep  re- 
gard in  which  he  was  held  by  thousands  in  thia  country. 


Freeborn  Garrettson,  whom  I  have  already  had  oc- 
casion to  name  incidentally,  was  another  of  the  early 
patriarchs  of  the  American  Methodist  Church,  and  was 
intimately  associated  with  Asbury,  Coke,  and  M'Kendree, 
in  laying  its  deep  and  broad  foundations.  He  was  one 
of  those  marked  men  of  God  who  are  memorable  by  the 


f 


190 


METHODIST  LABOURERS  IN  AMERICA. 


i  ^ 


r^ 


spiritual  and  heavenly  expression  of  their  countenances. 
We  have  seen  such  faces  in  the  Church.  Those  of 
men  accustomed  to  commune  much  with  God,  and  upon 
whose  features  the  Divine  glory  seemed  to  linger  after 
they  came  from  before  the  mercy-seat,  where  a  bright 
cloud  had  overshadowed  them.  This  is  more  especially 
seen  in  such  as  have  feared  and  loved  God  from  their 
youth  up.  Their  lineaments  have  been  early  trained 
and  fixed  by  the  sweetness  and  tenderness  of  religious 
thought,  feeling,  and  enjoyment ;  and  sin  has  not  been 
admitted  into  the  soul  to  harden  them.  Holy  love  and 
joy  were  so  evidently  transfused  from  the  soul  into  the 
countenance  of  Freeborn  Garrettson,  that  an  eminent 
Presbyterian  divine  has  said  of  the  effect  produced 
upon  himself  by  the  appearance  of  this  saint  of  the 
Lord,  "  My  first  convictions,  when  a  boy,  were  received 
from  observing  Mr.  Garrettson  as  he  was  walking. 
There  was  something  so  holy,  so  heavenly,  in  his  ex- 
pression, that  I  was  strongly  impressed  with  the  truth 
of  religion." 

His  leading  characteristic  was  Christian  singleness  of 
heart.  All  who  knew  him  speak  of  him  as  a  man  of 
godly  sincerity,  of  transparent  goodness.  Without  pro- 
found learning,  or  extraordinary  genius,  he  possessed 
good  practical  sense,  and  devoted  it  to  the  one  object  of 
promoting  the  honour  of  Christ  in  the  salvation  of  men. 
In  figure  he  was  round  and  full :  neat  and  clerical  in 
dress.  There  is  a  portrait  of  him,  by  Paradise,  which 
represents  him  somewhat  after  the  manner  of  Holbein's 
portrait  of  Martin  Luther;  but  with  less  hardness  in 
the  face,  and  with  the  hair  more  neatly  parted  in  front, 
and  turned  back  over  the  ears  in  orderly  folds. 

He  was  of  European  descent.     His  grandfather  lived 


METHODIST  LABOURERS  IN  AMERICA. 


191 


in  a  quaint  old  house,  of  small,  narrow,  red  brick,  still 
standing  upon  a  bold  open  bluff  reaching  out  into 
Chesapeake  Bay ;  and  was  one  of  five  brothers  who  had 
adjoining  plantations  in  that  part,  which  are  still  known 
by  the  name  of  the  "  Garrettson  Forest."  His  father 
gave  him  a  liberal  education ;  but  he  devoted  himself 
to  the  study  of  the  physical  sciences,  rather  than  to 
languages  or  classical  literature. 

From  childhood,  Freeborn  Garrettson  was  sedate, 
thoughtful,  and  virtuous ;  and  was  greatly  beloved  by 
all  who  knew  him.  But  he  became  convinced,  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  that  mere  morality  could  not  save  him, 
that  his  life  had  been  "  without  God  in  the  world,"  and 
that  he  needed  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  inward  renewal 
in  righteousness.  Being  thus  graciously  led  to  inquire 
**  What  must  I  do  to  '>e  saved  ?"  he  went  to  the  minis- 
ter of  the  parish ;  but  the  minister,  though  a  master  in 
Israel,  like  Nicodemus,  knew  not  these  things.  Soon 
after,  a  Methodist  preacher  came  round  into  that  part 
of  the  country,  and  Garrettson  went  to  hear  him.  The 
preacher  clearly  explained  the  way  of  life  and  salvation, 
pointed  out  the  necessity  of  a  full  surrender  of  the 
heart  to  God,  and  what  would  be  its  immediate  effects. 
The  word  came  home  to  Garrettson's  heart  with  power ; 
and  he  moimted  his  horse  to  ride  home  on  that  Whit- 
sunday night,  with  the  whole  inner  man  in  a  fearful 
state  of  struggle.  "  I  felt,"  says  he,  "  Satan  on  my 
left,  the  good  spirit  on  my  right.  The  one  contrasted 
the  world  and  its  allurements,  prosperity  in  business,  a 
a  good  name,  and  honest  renown,  with  that  which  a 
proud  man  likes  least  to  incur — obloquy,  shame,  dis- 
trust, the  averted  glance  of  friends,  the  open  taunt  of 
enemies."    The  combat  was  strong ;  but  the  Holy  Spirit 


r 


i) 


I 


\  \ 


192 


METHODIST   LABOURERS   IN   AMERICA, 


continued  to  impress  upon  Garrettson's  mind  the  all- 
important  realities  of  eternity,  and  demanded  instant 
decision.  Garrettson  felt  that  the  crisis  had  arrived, 
dropped  the  bridle,  clasped  his  hands,  and  exclaimed  in 
the  fulness  of  his  heart,  "  Lord,  I  will  part  with  all,  and 
become  an  humble  follower  of  Thee  ! " 

In  that  instant  his  soul  was  filled  with  joy  and 
peace,  the  "  peace  of  God  which  passeth  all  under- 
standing." Nature  seemed,  in  that  solemn  and  solitary 
place,  to  unite  with  him  in  highest  jubilee.  "  The 
stars,"  said  he,  "seemed  like  so  many  seraphs  going 
forth  in  their  Maker's  praise."  As  he  approached  his 
home,  the  servants,  hearing  the  sound  of  his  rejoicing, 
ran  out  to  meet  him,  and  to  ask  what  was  the  matter. 
"  I  called  the  family  together  for  prayer,"  said  he,  "  for 
the  first  time;  but  my  prayer  was  turned  to  praise." 
It  was  a  few  days  after  this  that,  as  he  stood  up  to  give 
out  a  hymn  at  family  worship,  the  moral  evil  of  slavery 
was  impressed  on  his  mind.  With  a  willing  heart  he 
responded,  "  Lord,  the  oppressed  shall  go  free  ! " — and, 
turning  to  the  astonished  negroes,  he  proclaimed  their 
liberty,  and  promised  a  just  compensation  for  any  ser- 
vices they  might  render  in  future.  "  And  my  mind 
was  as  clear  of  them,"  said  he,  "as  if  I  had  never 
owned  them."  Thus  did  he  bring  forth  the  fruits  meet 
for  repentance ;  and,  like  Zaccheus,  give  proof  of  the 
reality  of  his  change. 

He  not  only  established  a  "church  in  his  house," 
and  gathered  his  black  servants,  now  free  from  bodily 
bondage,  for  daily  worship ;  but  he  went  forth  to  the 
surrounding  lands  and  households,  and  declared  what 
God  had  done  for  his  soul.  Blessed  by  the  Lord  in  his 
efibrts,  he  saw  not  only  all  his  brothers,  and  some  of 


METHODIST   LABOURERS   IN  AMERICA. 


193 


ihe  all- 
instant 
irrived, 
Imed  in 
all,  and 

joy  and 
.  under- 
solitary 
"  The 
IS  going 
ched  his 
•ejoicing, 
3  matter, 
he,  "  for 
praise." 
p  to  give 
f  slavery 
leart  he 
' — and, 
led  their 
any  ser- 
ny  mind 
id  never 
nits  meet 
f  of  the 

house," 
m  bodily 
h  to  the 
red  what 
rd  in  his 

some  of 


his  cousins  converted,  but  beheld  many  others,  both 
black  and  white,  brought  "  to  know  Him  whom  to  know 
is  life  eternal."  By  his  instrumentality  a  Methodist 
society  was  soon  formed  in  that  part  of  the  country,  a 
large  log-house  was  erected  for  public  worship,  and  the 
society  was  regularly  visited  by  the  circuit  preacher. 

From  what  he  saw  of  the  fruit  of  his  labours,  he 
next  began  to  think  that  he  ought  to  devote  his  entire 
life  to  the  service  of  Christ,  and  to  go  forth  as  an  itin- 
erant Methodist  preacher.  He  foresaw  that  privation 
and  suffering  awaited  him  if  he  should  do  so  ;  but,  like 
the  Apostle  Paul,  he  conferred  not  with  flesh  and  blood, 
but  gave  himself  up  wholly  to  the  word  of  God  and  to 
prayer.  He  laboured  at  first  in  the  south-eastern  States, 
and  there  bore  reviling,  beating,  and  imprisonment  for 
Christ.  As  a  Methodist  preacher  devoted  to  Mr. 
Wesley,  he  did  not  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the 
States  during  the  revolutionary  war,  and  was  thus  the 
more  exposed  to  suffering,  but  he  meekly  submitted  to 
it,  assured  that  whatever  happened  would  be  for  the 
furtherance  of  the  Gospel.  Whether  imprisoned  or  free 
he  proclaimed  the  word  of  life  to  sinners.  If  at  liberty, 
in  addition  to  travelling  on  unformed  and  dangerous 
roads,  he  preached  from  one  to  four  times  a  day ;  and 
when  he  was  in  prison,  blacks  and  whites  would  gather 
round  his  grated  window  to  hear  him  declare  how  Christ 
Jesus  came  into  the  world  to  save  sinners.  Like  other 
devoted  servants  of  God,  he  seems  to  have  found  that  the 
highest  consolations  are  often  given  in  the  time  of  suffer- 
ing, so  that  he  could  sing  in  his  damp,  solitary  dungeon — 

"  When  my  sorrows  most  increase, 
Then  my  strongest  joys  are  given ; 
Jesus  conies  with  my  distress, 
And  agony  is  lieaven." 
O 


■L..HiJk,.l'm.i»Hi 


<». 


rmr 


I  V 


194. 


METHODIST   LABOURERS  IN   AMERICA. 


"With  all  his  devoted  attachment  to  Mr.  Wesley,  it 
does  not  seem  that  Freeborn  Garrettson  was  less  desirous 
than  others  of  establishing  the  independence  of  Method- 
ism in  America,  when  he  believed  that  could  be  done 
safely.  He  was  among  the  most  strenuous  withstanders 
of  innovation  upon  Mr.  Wesley's  plan,  at  the  first,  con- 
cerning attendance  at  the  Established  Church,  and  on 
its  sacraments.  But  when  Dr.  Coke  arrived  with  the 
letter  of  authority  to  organise  a  separate  and  distinct 
church,  Garrettson  went,  as  the  doctor  states,  "  like  an 
arrow,"  both  north  and  south,  to  gather  the  preachers 
for  the  Conference  held  at  Baltimore  in  1784  ;  and  when 
the  American  Methodist  Church  was  organised,  he  sup- 
ported it  with  all  his  life,  showing  himself  willing  to  be 
or  do  anything  in  its  service.  When  asked  to  go  to 
Nova  Scotia  as  a  missionary  to  the  people  in  that  cold 
and  cheerless  region,  ho  went  readily,  and  laboured 
diligently  and  successfully.  Though  elected  bishop  for 
that  part  of  the  continent,  for  some  unexplained  reason 
he  was  not  ordained  to  the  office ;  yet  he  neither  com- 
plained, nor  so  much  as  asked  for  an  explanation.  With 
unabated  zeal  he  went  forth,  north  of  New  York,  and 
with  several  devoted  young  men  laboured  right  and  left 
of  the  Hudson  River.  Here  he  remained,  a  diligent, 
devoted  labourer  for  Christ,  until  the  year  1817,  when, 
unasked  by  himself,  the  Conference  returned  him  as  a 
"  supernumerary." 

The  latter  portion  of  Garrettson's  life  seems  to  have 
been  very  pleasantly  spent  at  Rhinebeck,  a  place  most 
lovely  in  its  situation  by  the  Hudson  River.  There,  in 
one  of  his  itinerant  rounds,  he  had  found,  in  Miss 
Livingstone,  a  wife  from  the  Lord.  From  her  own  pos- 
sessions, she  more  than  made  up  to  him  what  he  had 


METHODIST   LABOURERS   IN  AMERICA. 


195 


Vesley,  it 
3  desirous 
I  Metbod- 
1  be  done 
Dhstanders 
first,  con- 
ch, and  on 
I  with  the 
id  distinct 
3,  "  like  an 
5  preachers 
;  and  when 
led,  he  sup- 
riUing  to  be 
ed  to  go  to 
n  that  cold 
id  laboured 
d  bishop  for 
lined  reason 
leither  com- 
Ltion.   With 
V  York,  and 
ffht  and  left 
a  diligent, 
1817,  when, 
ed  him  as  a 

sems  to  have 
place  most 
There,  in 
md,  in  IMiss 
ler  own  pos- 
what  he  had 


expended  as  a  Methodist  preacher  out  of  his  own  patri- 
mony. With  this  •* elect  lady"  he  had  a  social  and 
happy  abode  in  the  evening  of  his  days.  The  bishops 
and  ministers  of  Methodism  were  wont  to  repair  to  his 
house  with  the  greatest  freedom.  Bishop  Asbury  records 
of  his  first  visit  there,  "  He  hath  a  beautiful  land  and 
water  prospect,  and  a  good,  simple,  elegant,  useful 
house  for  God,  his  people,  and  his  family."  But  while 
he  had  this  peaceful,  happy  home,  in  which  he  was 
"  given  to  hospitality,"  yet  he  did  not  even  in  old 
age  cease  to  travel  and  preach  for  the  benefit  of  the 
churches. 

It  was  during  one  of  these  journeys  that  he  had  staid 
to  preach,  at  New  York,  what  proved  to  be  his  last 
sermon.  He  was  seized  with  mortal  sickness,  and  his 
sufferings  for  the  time  were  very  painful.  Filled  with 
holy  submission,  he  said,  "  I  shall  be  purified  as  by  fire : 
I  shall  be  made  perfect  through  suffering ;  it  is  all  right 
— there  is  not  a  pain  too  much."  When  his  bodily 
strength  was  exhausted,  he  exclaimed,  "  I  want  to  go 
home ;  I  want  to  be  with  Jesus — I  want  to  be  with 
Jesus."  To  a  friend  who  inquired  how  he  felt  spiritually, 
he  said,  "  I  feel  the  perfect  love  of  God  in  my  soul." 
His  love  for  Wesleyan  Methodism  continued  ardent  to 
the  end,  for,  on  thinking  and  speaking  of  the  heaven  to 
which  he  was  departing,  he  joyously  observed,  "  And  I 
shall  see  Mr.  AVesley  too."  As  he  went  down  into  the 
valley,  he  was  heard  praising  God  for  all  His  goodness, 
and,  as  if  rehearsing  for  the  song  of  heaven,  among  his 
last  utterances  were  "  Holy,  holy,  holy  Lord  God 
Almighty!  Hallelujah!  hallelujah!  hallelujah!"  Then 
clasping  his  hands  and  raising  his  eyes  to  heaven,  he 
exclaimed,  "  Glory  !  glory  ! "     Others  in  that  room  felt 


I'    J. 

Ill  I  •  ■■ 


II 

fli   .]t 


196 


w 


METHODIST   LABOURERS  IN   AMERICA. 


the  presence  and  glory  of  God  so  overwhelming  that 
they  were  ready  to  sink  upon  the  floor  with  its  weight 
and  power  upon  their  souls.  The  rapturous  look  which 
marked  his  victory  over  death  continued  upon  his  coun- 
tenance till  it  was  hidden  from  human  view.  His  body 
was  borne  to  Rhinebeck,  where  it  was  buried  amidst  a 
weeping  multitude,  in  the  rear  of  that  church  in  which 
he  had  preached  so  frequently  and  faithfully  the  Gospel 
of  Christ.  Thus,  at  the  green  old  age  of  eeventy-six, 
and  in  the  fifty-second  year  of  his  ministry,  triumphantly 
rejoicing  in  God,  the  devoted  Freeborn  Garrettson 
pussed  away  to  his  eternal  reward.  He  was  one  of  the 
most  honoured  instruments  of  God  in  founding  and 
building  up  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Ame- 
rica. AYhen  he  joined  it,  there  were  only  19  ministers 
and  3128  members  belonging  to  it,  and  when  he  was 
removed  from  it  by  death,  it  comprised  1576  ministers, 
and  381,997  members. 

Jesse  Lee,  whom  I  have  already  named  as  the 
leading  pioneer  for  Methodism  in  the  States  of  New 
England,  was  another  signal  instrument  of  God  in 
founding  and  spreading  His  truth  in  America.  He  was 
a  native  of  Virginia  (a  State  which  has  been  remark- 
ably productive  of  eminent  men  of  diversified  talent 
and  usefulness),  and  was  converted  to  God  through 
the  instrumentality  of  the  simple-hearted  and  earnest 
Robert  Williams,  who,  as  we  have  seen,  was  associated 
with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Garratt  in  the  revival  scenes  of  his 
parish  and  neighbourhood.  Jesse  Lee  was  tue  early 
companion  of  Francis  Asbury,  the  first  Methodist 
chaplain  to  the  House  of  Congress, — the  first  historian 
of  American  Methodism, — and  a  most  laborious,  self- 


METHODIST   LABOUKERS  IN   AMERICA. 


137 


denying,  a»  persevering  minister  of  Christ.  He  is 
described  as  having  been  a  large,  plain  man,  with  a 
look  of  peculiar  intelligence  and  shrewdness.  He  pos- 
sessed real  native  wit,  and  was  most  ready  and  pointed 
in  his  replies  to  public  opponents.  Many  anecdotes 
are  related  of  him,  and  some  of  them  are  very  racy  and 
amusing,  and  highly  illustrate  his  power  of  repartee. 
His  last  sermon  was  preached  at  a  camp-meeting,  and 
it  is  said  that  when  he  gave  out  his  text  of,  "  But  grow 
in  grace,"  he  announced  it  with  these  words,  "  You  will 
find  my  text  in  the  last  Epistle  of  St.  Peter,  the  last 
chapter,  the  last  verse ;  and  it  may  be  that  from  it  I 
shall  preach  my  last  sermon  ! "  The  sermon  is  described 
as  being  one  of  surpassing  power.  Immediately  after 
it,  he  received  the  summons  for  departure  to  another 
world.  Even  at  the  point  of  his  exit,  it  is  said  his  wit 
and  pleasantry  broke  forth,  but  without  levity — it  was 
"  the  ruling  passion  strong  in  death."  He  died  happy, 
at  the  age  of  fifty-eight,  exclaiming,  "  Hallelujah  ! 
Jesus  reigns ! "  Indeed,  triumph  in  death  seems  to 
have  been  the  almost  universal  experience  of  these 
early  American  worthies.  God  evidently  honoured  his 
faithful  and  devoted  workmen. 


There  are  other  bishops  and  ministers  of  Methodism 
whose  memories  are  gratefully  cherished  here,  but  I 
must  only  make  brief  mention  of  them.  There  is 
Bishop  Roberts,  "  the  grandfather  of  all  the  mission- 
aries," as  the  Red  Men  of  the  Far  West  were  accus- 
tomed to  call  him.  He  was  for  many  years  the  senior 
bishop  of  the  Church,  and  appears  to  have  been  a  plain, 
simple-minded,  benignant,  and  able  man.  He  never 
forgot  his  lowly  condition  when  Methodism  found  him, 


rl 


- 


U 


198 


v\ 


METHODIST   LABOURERS   IN  AMERICA. 


a  farmer's  boy  in  a  hunter's  shirt,  and  taught  him  to 
study  and  pray  in  the  depths  of  the  forest,  and  there  to 
preach  over  his  youthful  sermons  to  thick,  standing 
trees,  as  if  they  were  living  men.  "When,  as  a  local 
preacher,  ho  went  forth  in  the  garb  of  a  backwoods- 
man, to  preich  in  his  own  neighbourhood,  one  who 
heard  his  first  sermon,  and  who  was  well  able  to  judge 
of  its  character,  has  said,  "  It  was  worthy  of  grey 
hairs  and  of  broad-cloth."  As  a  preacher,  he  was 
powerful  and  popular  from  the  beginning,  and  that 
whether  in  the  Indian's  wigwam,  the  forest  camp- 
meeting,  CT  the  metropolitan  church.  His  election  to 
the  office  of  bishop  made  no  difference  in  his  way  of 
life.  He  built  himself  a  log-cabin  in  the  State  of 
Indiana,  and  lived  in  it,  though  the  wolves  were  often 
heard  howling  round  it  in  droves.  There  he  laboured 
with  his  own  hands  (at  intervals  of  cessation  from 
preaching  journeys),  felling  trees,  cultivating  ground, 
bid  ministering  to  his  own  necessities.  From  this  rude, 
primitive  retreat  he  used  to  go  forth,  in  order  to  take 
the  oversight  of  the  ministers  and  churches.  He  was 
simple  and  patriarchal  in  appearance,  but  was  arrayed 
in  the  "  beauty  of  holiness,"  for  purity  of  heart  and 
life  were  eminently  his.  His  last  two  texts  were  cha- 
racteristic of  himself:  one,  the  words  of  the  royal 
preacher,  "  He  that  loveth  pureness  of  heart,  for  the 
grace  of  his  lips  the  king  will  be  his  friend ;"  and  the 
other,  "  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall 
see  God."  This  modest,  unassuming,  and  faithful 
Methodist  minister  fell  calmly  and  peacefully  asleep  in 
the  Lord,  in  the  year  1843.  His  body  was  at  first 
deposited  in  a  lonely  field  on  his  own  farm,  but  has 
since,  at  the  general  call  of  the  Church,  been  interred 


j'^-^- 


■~tf  .  -  .  ».-M...  Jf.j  AJ  - .- 


METUODIST   LABOUH  :HB   FN   A     ERICA. 


199 


at  Greencastlo,  where  stands  lL     Mtuliodist  University 
for  the  State  of  Indiana. 

Bishop  IIeddtno's  is  another  name  held  in  great 
love  and  veneration  by  the  American  Methodist  Church. 
He  was  originally  from  the  Green  Mountains,  where, 
amid  the  bracing  air,  he  had  become  possessed  of  a 
strong  frame,  and  seemed  prepared  for  almost  any 
amount  of  endurance.  But  notwithstanding  his  iron 
constitution,  his  early  hardships  were  such  as  almost 
broke  him  down.  He  is  described  as  a  large  and 
somewhat  rugged  man ;  of  solid,  compact  mind ; 
powerful  both  in  preaching  and  debate,  and  orderly 
and  resolute  in  the  administration  of  church  disci- 
pline. It  is  said  that  he  suffered  much  from  calumny 
and  reproach  among  brethren,  but  that,  with  un- 
daunted courage,  he  was  meek  and  forgiving.  His 
last  words  were  uttered  on  the  9th  of  April,  ]  852,  and 
were,  "  Glory — glory — glory  to  God  I  I  am  happy — 
filled ! " 


Bishop  Emory,  as  I  have  stated,  sleeps  in  the  dust, 
with  Bishops  Asbury  and  George,  in  the  Mount  of 
Olives'  Cemetery  at  Baltimore.  He  was  a  man  of 
orderly  and  practical  mind,  of  accurate  scholarship,  of 
resolute,  persevering  diligence,  and  of  courteous,  gen- 
tlemanly demeanour.  He  attended  as  the  delegate  to 
the  British  Conference  in  the  year  1820,  for  the  settle- 
ment with  it  of  affairs  respecting  Methodism  in  Upper 
Canada.  His  life  was  suddenly  terminated  in  December, 
1835,  by  his  being  hurled  out  from  his  carriage  near  to 
the  city  of  Baltimore,  through  the  running  away  of  a 
restive  and  ungovernable  horse. 


:\ 


\ 


j     i!i 


i  I 


fi 


-(■ 


■  1,    : 


200 


METHODIST   LABOURERS   IN   AMERICA. 


Among  earlier  names,  John  Eastkr,  the  futher  in 
Christ  of  Bishop  M'Kcndreo,  is  spoken  of  us  having 
fulfilled  a  short,  but  brilliant  course,  llo  was  indeed 
a  burning  and  a  shining  light.  In  one  circuit  (that  of 
Brunswick,  Virginia),  not  less  than  eighteen  hundred 
souls  were  brought  to  a  saving  knowledge  of  Christ 
under  his  ministry,  within  the  space  of  one  year.  His 
name,  as  one  specially  owned  by  God  for  powerful  con- 
viction and  numerous  conversions,  is  held  in  profound 
respect  and  veneration.  Caleh  B.  Pedicord,  combined 
in  himself  many  excellent  qualities,  and  sutfered  much 
for  his  Lord  and  Master.  Like  Paul,  he  bore  upon  his 
body  "  the  marks  of  the  Lord  Jesus,"  having  been  pub- 
licly whipped  and  beaten  upon  the  road,  for  preaching 
the  Gospel.  He  carried  the  scars  with  him  to  the  grave. 
William  Gill  is  mentioned  as  a  veteran  preacher,  of 
solid  mind  and  blameless  life  ;  and  John  Tunnell, 
Sylvester  Hutchinson,  and  George  Pickering,  have 
each  left  a  name  beloved  and  honoured  for  excellence. 

Among  moi'e  recent  worthies,  who  now  rest  from 
their  labours,  and  whose  works  do  follow  them,  are  the 
amiable  and  attractive  John  Summerfield,  who,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-eight,  had  consumed  his  slcrider  frame  by 
the  earnestness  of  his  pulpit  -erci&es,  which  chtirmed 
and  edified  many  thousands;  and  Dr.  Stephe'/  Olin, 
a  powerful  preacher  of  the  Gospel,  whose  discourses, 
although  they  extended  at  times  over  two  hours  and 
two  hours  and  a  half,  are  said  by  those  who  heard 
them  never  to  have  been  too  long.  By  devotedness 
to  study  and  to  the  work  of  Christ,  he  found  that, 
though  naturally  of  a  robust  frame,  he  had  become,  as 
he  said,  "an  old  man  and  a  broken  reed  at  twenty- 
seven."     In   death,  he  said  to  his  wife  composedly, 


MKTIIODTST   LADOURERS   IN   AMERICA. 


201 


"I  may  die  just  as  I  u?n,  trusting,  belioving,  but  witli 
no  rapturous  oxprosaions.  Though  I  think  I  should 
have  a  glad  feoling  to  find  myself  on  tho  borders  of 
endless  life,  with  infirmities,  disappointments,  sorrows, 
for  ever  at  an  end.  I  feel  that  it  cannot  bo  that  I 
should  be  cast  out  from  heaven,  where  are  gathered 
tho  people  whom  I  love,  and  with  whose  spirits  and 
tastes  I  sympathise — from  the  society  I  relish,  to  that 
which  I  loathe, — to  the  hell  where  the  worldly,  tho 
unbelieving,  for  whose  society  I  have  a  distasto,  with 
whom  I  have  nothing  in  common,  ^^  '  "--^ir  portion. 
It  is  unphilosophical  to  think  so  :  it  i  be  in  God's 

economy  to  separate  me  from  what  i  huve  so  long 
trusted  in.  He  sends  to  hell  those  who  will  not  submit 
to  His  will ;  but  my  will  is  in  harmony  with  His.  Tho 
law  of  affinities  will  find  place." 

These,  and  many  others  I  cannot  name,  are  held  in 
veneration,  and  will  be  held  in  lasting  regard,  by 
American  Methodists,  for  their  character,  and  suffer- 
ings, and  labours  for  Christ. 


LETTER  XII. 


THE  GENERAL  CONFERENCE  AT  INDIANAPOLIS. 


JiN 


' 


Mi- 


ll 

I' 
\ 


i       :. 


1' 


Appearance  of  the  Assembly — The  Bishops — The  Delegates  from  the  Far 
West — Patriarchal  Labourers — Their  Jealousy  of  Declension — Style  of 
their  Oratory — Dr.  Jacob  Young — Dr.  Peter  Cartwright,  or  "  Uncle 
Peter" — His  Preaching — Strange  Anecdote — "Father  Finley" — His 
Indian  Labours — "  Squire  Grey  Eyes,"  the  Indian  Preacher — Affecting 
Scene  in  the  Conference — Order  and  Courtesy  of  the  Conference— Its 
Reception  of  Foreign  Representatives. 


The  general  appearance  of  the  Conference  is  very 
impr<  ssive.  The  bishops  are  grave,  dignified  men,  who 
bear  in  their  very  looks  and  demeanour  the  care  of  the 
churches.  There  is  no  haste  or  impetuosity  in  any- 
thing they  say  or  do  ;  but,  at  all  times,  they  show  great 
self-possession  and  wisdom.  When  appealed  to  on 
points  of  law  and  order,  they  show  themselves  fully 
prepared  to  answer ;  and  yet  their  response  to  a  question 
is  given  in  such  a  manner  that  it  by  no  means  tends  to 
check  free  and  full  discussion  by  the  Conference,  or  to 
place  the  party  complained  of  for  being  out  of  order 
in  a  painful  or  humiliating  position.  And  if  any  one 
appeals  against  their  decisions  to  the  General  Confer- 
ence, they  manifest  no  dogmatic  authority,  or  tenacity 
of  opinion ;  but  calmly  submit  the  case  to  the  assembly 
of  their  brethren  for  final  determination.     The  bishops 


I"  •-"•  li— fci»«iM 


THE   GENERAL  CONFERENCE   AT   INDIANAPOLIS.      203 


are,  very  evidently,  humble  and  devout  men,  who 
speak  and  act  with  reverence  towards  God,  and  with 
respect  and  affection  towards  their  brethren.  This 
ennobles  them  in  the  estimation  of  all  thoughtful  and 
candid  observers,  and  gives  to  them  an  aspect  of  apos- 
tolic dignity  when  seated  before  the  general  assembly 
cf  their  brethren  in  the  ministry. 

The  Delegates  from  the  Annual  Conferences,  sent  by 
the  preachers  to  represent  them  and  their  churches, 
have  the  appearance  of  real  labourers  in  the  vineyard 
of  the  Lord.  This  is  the  first  impression  made  upon 
one's  mind  when  looking  on  them.  They  look  as  if 
they  had  performed  hard  toil  in  the  service  of  their 
Master.  Many  of  them  are  far  advanced  in  life,  and 
have  evidently  borne  their  share  in  the  burthen  and 
heat  of  the  day.  Some  are  deeply  tanned  by  the  sun, 
and  exhibit  unmistakeable  marks  of  continuous  exposure 
to  the  climate.  There  are  men  from  California,  and 
Oregon,  and  the  shores  of  the  Pacific,  looking  worn  and 
exhausted  by  itinerant  service  under  the  scorching  sun ; 
and  seated  among  them  are  venerable  men  from  the 
north  and  the  east,  with  peaceful  beaming  faces,  and 
with  long  hair  white  as  wool.  It  is  impossible  to  look 
upon  the  men  of  this  Conference  without  discerning, 
at  a  glance,  that  many  of  them  are  persons  of  strong 
decisive  character,  and  yet  devout  and  humble  servants 
of  the  Larab.  Distinct  and  marked  in  their  primitive 
energy  and  zeal,  here  are  a  few  of  the  early  backwoods- 
men preachers,  the  true  pioneers  of  the  West,  who  have 
spent  their  lives  in  the  rough  unsheltered  wilderness. 
These  fathers  of  Western  Methodism  seem  absorbed 
with  interest  in  the  truth  and  service  of  Christ,  and 
evidently  watch  with  godly  jealousy  over  the  doctrines 


204      THE   GENERAL  CONFERENCE  AT   INDIANAPOLIS. 


and  discipline  of  a  system,  whose  superlative  value 
they  have  proved,  by  witnessing  its  transforming  and 
saving  effects  upon  the  most  uncultivated  examples  of 
human  nature.  They  take  their  full  share  in  the 
proceedings  of  the  Conference,  and  most  earnestly  use 
the  influence  which  their  long  and  successful  labours 
have  secured  them,  in  checking  any  attempts  that  may 
be  made,  either  by  preachers  or  people,  to  slacken  the 
cords  or  to  loosen  the  stakes  of  the  Methodist  Taber- 
nacle. Some  of  the  speeches  we  have  heard  from  these 
earnest,  practical  men  were  speeches  of  great  power. 
They  were  evidently  spontaneous,  and  purely  extem- 
pore ;  but  sentence  after  sentence  struck  home,  to  those 
for  whom  they  were  intended,  with  indescribable  pun- 
gency and  force. 

This  was  especially  the  case  in  the  instance  where 
complaints  of  circuit-hardship  or  over-labour  were  made 
by  a  preacher,  and  where  he  pleaded  for  relief  or  indul- 
gence. Then  the  old  men  arose  and  told  of  their  own 
early  life ;  how  they  had  wandered  in  the  woods  after 
Indians  and  settlers,  to  seek  these  as  subjects  for  their 
Lord ;  how  they  had  to  take  shelter  in  greasy,  smoking, 
wigwams,  or  in  rugged,  unfurnished  log-cabins ;  or,  as 
one  of  them  said,  "make  beds  of  gathered  leaves  for 
themselves  and  their  wives;  to  sleep  on  hard  boards 
between  negroes  and  Indians ;  shoot  and  hunt  for  their 
meals  before  they  could  eat ;  to  make  their  breakfast  or 
dinner  upon  bear  and  racoon  bacon,  without  salt  or  vege- 
tables ;  and  with  no  quarterly  allowance  but  what  they 
could  obtain  by  the  sale  of  buffalo  skins,  to  pass  from 
station  to  station,  and  all  this  through  year  after  year." 

After  these  startling  narratives  of  their  own  self-deny- 
ing and  self-sacrificing  services  for  Christ  in  the  wilder- 


t  ; 


THE  GENERAL  CONFERENCE  AT   INDIANAPOLIS,      205 


ness,  the  old  men  turned  upon  such  as  sought  modern 
indulgence,  with  words  of  overwhelming  rebuke.  Their 
speeches  were,  for  the  most  part,  highly  figurative. 
They  showed  that  what  they  declared  before  Masters 
of  Arts  and  Doctors  of  Divinity  (who,  they  said,  were 
too  numerous)  was  true :  that  they  had  "  studied  in 
Nature's  own  great  university — high  up  on  the  moun- 
tains— deep  down  in  the  valleys — in  the  spreading 
woods  and  waving  prairies,  and  in  the  free  school  of 
self-culture."  For  nearly  all  their  images  and  forms 
of  expression  were  drawn  from  the  scenes  and  the  life 
of  the  western  wilderness.  Within  the  compass  of  a 
quarter  of  an  hour's  address,  the  speaker  would,  in  his 
•fiffures  of  speech,  be  shooting,  hunting  and  "  racooning," 
ub  ,  ith  forest-settlers ;  canoeing  and  shooting,  as  with 
Indians;  soaring  and  screaming,  as  with  the  eagle; 
bounding,  as  with  the  buffalo  and  the  deer ;  climbing 
with  the  bear,  springing  with  the  panther,  howling 
with  the  wolf,  and  darting  with  the  serpent.  Indeed, 
the  wild  beasts,  birds,  and  Indians  of  the  forest,  would 
not  unfrequently  be  all  turned  upon  the  delinquent,  or 
the  antagonist ;  and  made,  there  and  then,  to  tear  in 
pieces  the  false  plea,  and  prey  upon  the  false  position  ; 
and  yet  all  this  was  done  with  manifest  zeal  for  Christ 
and  His  cause,  and  without  any  laborious  or  strained 
eflPort  for  effect.  With  all  its  variety  and  singular 
combination  of  metaphors,  the  style  was  simple  and 
unlaboured.  Like  all  true  eloquence,  theirs  consisted 
of  short  unmistakeable  words,  which  were  fused  into 
flowing  harmony  by  the  inward  fervour  of  the  soul,  that 
seized  and  employed  them.  Theirs  was  no  patch- work  of 
schoolboy  eloquence,  which  any  man  with  a  remnant  of 
modesty  must  become  increasingly  wearied  of  repeating 


I 


!( 


I  V(: 


ni 


!  a 


I 


t,  I 


i 


HI  I 


206      THE  GENERAL  CONFERENCE  AT  IMDIANAIOLIS. 

and  using  as  he  advances  in  life ;  but  it  was  the  elo- 
quence of  a  sincere  and  earnest  nature,  that  mellows 
and  strengthens  with  years.  It  was  Nature's  own 
oratory :  that  of  the  strong  and  sincere  soul  pouring 
forth  its  convictions  under  the  influence  of  renewing 
and  sanctifying  grace,  and  reaching  and  stirring  to 
their  depths  the  souls  of  all  who  were  within  hearing 
of  it. 

Three  of  these  pioneer  fathers  are  especially  prominent 
and  active  in  the  Conference.  They  have  all  passed  the 
allotted  boundary  of  human  life,  and  yet  they  are  full 
of  vigour.  Like  a  few  ancient  trees  that  remain  to  tell 
of  the  grandeur  of  some  primeval  forest,  these  few 
survivors  of  a  by- gone  generation,  by  their  look  and 
behaviour,  embody  to  your  imagination  the  towering 
strength  and  unsubduable  enterprise  which  characterised 
the  men  who  laboured  with  them  in  the  wilderness. 
The  eldest  of  them,  Dr.  Jacob  Young,  is  not  so  hale  and 
vigorous  as  the  other  two.  He  has  been  of  late  years 
the  subject  of  affliction,  that  seems  to  have  nearly  bereft 
him  of  eyesight.  He  is  of  Scotch  Presbyterian  descent, 
and  is  the  son  of  a  Virginian  farmer.  In  early  life,  by 
the  aid  of  his  father's  books,  he  wrought  his  way  out 
of  Calvinism  into  Arminianism,  and  experienced  rege- 
neration of  heart.  Almost  ever  since,  and  through  a 
long  life,  he  has  been  labouring  as  an  itinerant  Me- 
thodist preacher  in  the  Western  States.  He  is  now  a 
tall,  slender  man,  with  deeply- sunken  eyes  that  seem 
filled  with  thought,  and  flowing,  snow-white  hair  that 
renders  him  venerable  even  to  the  eye,  while  one's 
remembrance  of  his  patriarchal  age  deepens  the  feeling. 
He  retains  undoubted  marks  of  careful  self-culture,  and 
though  not  so  strong  and  vigorous  as  his  two  veteran 


THE   GENERAL  CONFERENCE  AT   INDIANAPOLIS.      207 


brethren,  nor  so  animated  and  figurative  in  his  style  of 
speaking,  yet,  on  all  great  questions,  he  has  something 
to  say  which  commands  the  attention  of  the  Conference. 
He  is  evidently  a  man  of  sound  understanding  and 
reliable  judgment. 

The  next  in  advance  of  years  is  Dr.  Peter  Cart- 
wright,  a  large,  square-built  man,  with  some  native 
mggedness,  mingled  with  a  good  deal  of  humour,  both 
in  his  looks  and  in  his  speeches.  There  is  a  granite-like 
texture  in  his  flesh,  and  a  knotted  roughness  in  his 
features,  that  stamp  him  as  one  who  is  hardy  and 
enduring.  And  yet  it  would  be  a  great  omission  in 
the  slightest  sketch  of  his  appearance  to  represent  him 
as  lacking  in  geniality  and  good  nature,  for  both  his 
mouth  and  eyes,  as  well  as  the  radiant  play  of  the 
upper  part  of  his  cheeks,  tell  of  a  kindly  and  sociable 
nature.  His  head  is  large,  and  firmly  supported  between 
ample  and  compact  shoulders.  His  brow  is  broad,  and 
overhung  with  a  mass  of  iron-grey  hair.  His  eyes  are 
intensely  deep  in  colour,  and  shine  like  dark  fires  be- 
neath his  shaggy  eye-brows,  while  crow's-feet  wrinkles 
mark  their  corners,  and  add  to  the  peculiar  expression 
of  his  coun'  >nance.  His  complexion,  never  fair,  is  deeply 
tanned  by  the  sun.  His  voice,  when  he  begins  to  speak, 
is  tremulous,  but,  as  he  proceeds,  its  old  power  returns, 
its  rich  natural  organ  tones  are  recovered,  and  he  swells 
and  rolls  its  deep  diapasons  most  manfully.  At  times, 
to  give  point  and  wing  to  his  side-shot  arrows,  he 
assumes  a  mock  tragic  tone  and  look,  and  then,  after 
relating  c^ttig  backwood  anecdote  which  convulses  the 
assembly  with  irresistible  laughter  while  he  himself  is 
solemnly  grave,  he  falls  upon  his  antagonist  with  over- 
whelming power,  and  leaves  the  victim  prostrate  uider 


;  ; 


't'  I 


!     I 


208      THE   GENERAL   CONFERENCE   AT  INDIANAPOLIS, 

sarcasms.  When  roused  by  combined  opposition,  he 
launches  in  swift  succession  keen- edged  sentences,  and 
tlioughts  vivid  and  scathing  as  lightning,  and  then,  \eith 
a  voice  roaring  like  a  forest  hurricane,  he  pours  out  his 
condemnations  and  warnings  with  a  force  that  crushes 
his  foe,  and  fills  others  that  hear  with  a  sensation 
approaching  to  awe.  Indeed,  to  hunt  down  and  put  to 
the  cover  of  shame  those  whom  he  regards  as  dangerous 
to  constitutional  Methodism  seems  to  be  regarded  by 
him  as  his  proper  vocation.  He  plainly  performs  this 
work  with  all  the  zest  of  a  backwoodsman  hunter,  and, 
to  accomplish  it,  he  spares  neither  bishops,  deputations, 
presiding  elders,  ministers,  nor  people.  On  some  occa- 
sions he  is  absolutely  terrible  in  execution,  and  seems  to 
stand  on  the  floor  of  the  Conference  as  fearless  and  as 
irresistible  as  the  lion  in  his  domain. 

This  unique  and  really  grand  sample  of  manhood  was 
born  and  brought  up  among  the  wildest  mountains  of 
Kentucky,  and  has  been  in  his  day  a  most  popular  and 
powerful  open-air  preacher.  For  camp-meetings  in 
the  woods,  his  name  was  a  magnet  to  draw  forth  thou- 
sands from  their  scattered  homes  to  hear  the  words  of 
eternal  life.  Some  of  his  forest  gatherings  are  said  to 
have  been  immense,  and  under  his  full,  trumpet- toned, 
and  mighty  voice,  that  alternatel}'  wailed  and  thundered 
as  he  lamented  the  sinful  state  of  mankind,  and  foretold 
their  doom,  the  multitudes  bowed  their  heads  and  waved 
as  the  long  grass  of  the  prairie-land  bows  and  waves  with 
the  wind.  On  one  occasion,  not  less  than  five  hundred 
persons  prostrated  themselves  on  their  knees  while  he 
was  preaching,  and  prayed  to  God  for  mercy.  Many 
anecdotes  are  related,  as  you  may  suppose,  in  connection 
with  his  name,  and  some  of  these  approach  the  ludicrous. 


THE   GENERAL   CONFERENCE   AT    INDIANAPOLIS.      209 


It  18  said  that  on  one  occasion,  when  interrupted  by 
scoffers,  he  descended  from  his  pulpit,  and  seized  a 
notorious  leader  of  them.  The  man  had  never  been 
mastered  in  fight,  but  the  preacher  shook  him  until  the 
border-ruffian,  for  such  he  was,  was  completely  subdued. 
Doctor  Peter  then  grasped  him  by  the  neck,  made  him 
kneel  down  and  repeat  a  prayer  to  God  for  mercy,  and 
then  the  preacher,  while  his  opponents  and  the  crowd 
were  stricken  with  wonder,  resumed  his  station,  and 
preached  on  without  further  disturbance.  Of  course,  I 
cannot  vouch  for  the  authenticity  of  thii  story,  or  deter- 
mine what  amount  of  fact  or  measure  of  exaggeration 
there  may  be  in  it.  I  can  only  affirm  that  Dr.  Peter 
Cartwright  does  not  seem  an  unlikely  hero  for  such  a 
narrative,  and  that  he  has  a  most  marvellous  facility  for 
passing  from  grave  to  gay,  and  from  gay  to  grave.  I 
need  only  add  of  him  that  he  entered  the  itinerant 
ministry  at  the  early  period  of  eighteen  years  old,  and 
has  continued  in  it  ever  since,  toiling  chiefly  on  the 
"Western  frontier,  and  advancing  as  it  has  advanced. 
He  has  studied  hard  amidst  the  woods  and  prairies ; 
and,  in  addition  to  the  study  o^-  divinity,  has  made,  it  is 
said,  considerable  attainments  in  mathematics,  logic, 
physic,  law,  and  the  learned  languages.  And  still  he  is 
found  working  for  Christ  and  for  Methodism  among 
the  emigrants  and  settlers  of  the  Far  "West. 

The  third  of  these  "Western  veterans  is  the  Rev. 
James  B.  Finley,  or  "  Father  Finley,"  as  he  is  usually 
called.  He  is  a  most  loveable,  brave  old  man.  In 
person  he  is  large  and  massive,  but  he  is  neither  so 
rugged  in  exterior  nor  so  stormy  in  matter  as  "  Uncle 
Peter  " — the  name  often  familiarly  given  to  Dr.  Cart- 
wright.     Father  Finley's   face  wears  an   habitual  ex- 

p 


V 


210      THE   GENERAL   CONFERENCE  AT   INDIANAPOLIS. 


(i, 


pression  of  serenity.  Religion  has  softened  down  the 
harder  lines  of  his  sun- embrowned  countenance,  and 
made  it  shine ;  and  his  long  grey  hair  thrown  sn  )othly 
back  from  his  forehead,  and  flowing  upon  his  neck  and 
shoulders,  places  him  also  among  the  patriarchs  in 
appearance.  He  is  dressed  in  buff-coloured  clothing  of 
a  primitive  fashion,  and  always  bears  his  staff  with  him, 
whether  he  walks  or  is  seated.  This  keeps  him  at  all 
times  upright,  and  wherever  you  might  see  him,  he  would 
be  a  noticeable  figure,  and  you  would  set  him  down  for 
more  than  an  ordinary  character.  When  he  speaks  in 
the  Conference,  he  rests  what  he  says  firmly  and  confi- 
dently on  his  age  and  experience  in  the  work  of  God, 
and  he  always  speaks  graphically  and  well.  In  addition 
to  his  manly,  Saxon  style  of  expression,  and  forest- 
gathered  imagery,  there  is  a  pathos  in  his  addresses 
which  is  very  winning.  The  deep  founts  of  his  nature 
often  find  vent  in  tears,  and  while  speaking  in  the 
assembly,  he  seema  to  yearn  over  his  audience  with  the 
full  affection  of  a  father  in  Israel.  He  has  been  through 
a  great  portion  of  his  life  a  missionary  to  the  Indians. 
He  was  among  the  first  appointed  missionaries  from 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  to  chat  noble,  but  unci- 
vilised and  flagrantly  abused  people.  His  father  was  a 
Virginian  minister  of  Scotch  descent,  and  his  ancestors 
fought  hard  for  American  independence.  He  was 
attracted  towards  the  Indians  in  early  life  by  their  wild 
and  adventurous  sports,  and  seems  to  have  loved  them 
still  more  on  account  of  the  cruel  wrongs  they  suffered. 
It  was  therefore  by  preference  that  he  became  a  mis- 
sionary to  them,  after  his  conversion  to  God.  He  took 
charge  of  the  first  Indians  converted  under  John 
Stewart,  the  coloured  local  preacher,  in  the  north-west 


THE   GENERAL   CONFERENCE  AT   INDIANAPOLIS.      211 


of  the  upper  States,  and  became  himself  God's  instrument 
in  the  conversion  of  numbers  of  the  red  people,  whom  he 
has  seen  gathered  into  churches  and  die  happy  in  the 
Lord.  In  his  autobiography,  which  he  has  published, 
and  which  is  a  most  interesting  and  exciting  book  on 
the  Methodism  of  the  backwoods.  Father  Finley  gives 
sketches  of  several  Indian  preachers,  with  specimens  of 
their  style  of  preaching ;  and  some  of  these  are  affecting, 
as  showing  what  God  has  done  by  and  for  the  de- 
scendants of  those  who  were  formerly  lords  of  the 
American  forests  and  lakes.  So  much  was  this  veteran 
missionary  revered  and  beloved  by  the  aboriginal 
Indians  that  they  formally  elected  him  a  chief  of  the 
"  Bear"  tribe;  as  they  also  elected  his  wife  to  be  a  chief's 
daughter  of  the  "Turkey"  tribe. 

A  scene  has  transpired  in  the  Conference,  between 
Father  Finley  and  one  of  his  Indian  converts,  that 
reached  the  height  of  moral  sublimity,  and  which  was 
overpowering  in  its  effect.  The  convert  had  learned 
that  his  beloved  father  in  the  Gospel  was  to  be  as  far 
north-west  as  Indianapolis,  attending  there  with  the 
brethren.  And  so  the  Indian  set  off  with  his  "  squaw," 
on  foot ;  and,  as  soon  as  he  arrived  at  the  city,  Father 
Finley  brought  him  to  the  Conference,  and  had  him 
introduced,  through  Bishop  Janes  (the  Indians'  bishop), 
to  the  assembly.  He  was  handed  up  to  the  low  plat- 
form, wh&re  he  could  see  and  be  seen  by  al! ;  and  was 
announced  as  "  Squire  Grey  Eyes,"  an  Indian  Metho- 
dist preacher  of  the  Wyandot  nation.  He  appeared  to 
be  upwards  of  fifty  years  of  age;  and  is  somewhat 
smaller  in  figure  than  the  Indian  red-men  are  in 
general.  He  has  deeply  sunk  en  grey  eyes,  with  smooth 
strong  hair  v/f  mingled  white  and  black.     Care  and 


212      THE    GENERAL   CONFEUENCE   AT   INDIANAPOLIS. 


'  ^'• 


Its- 


suffering  have  ploughed  their  furrows  deep  upon  his 
tuwny,  shiunkcn  face.  He  looked  footworn  and  hag- 
gard ;  and  there  wore  signs  on  his  legs  and  clothes  of 
his  recent  struggles  over  the  soil,  and  through  the 
entangled  brushwood  of  the  forest. 

On  his  introduction,  Father  Finley  stood  up  by  his 
side,  and  said,  with  deep  emotion,  "  Brethren,  twenty- 
five  years  ago,  I  found  thin  our  brother  in  the  wilderness, 
a  wild  savage  man,  filled  with  all  the  pride  and  imagi- 
nary pomp  and  glory  of  an  Indian  chioftain.  I  preached 
to  him  *  the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  bleesed  God.'  He 
listened,  was  soundly  converted,  and  retained  his  con- 
version. No  man  can  say  that  Brother  Grey  J^'yes  has 
ever  turned  away  from  the  narrow  path,  either  to  the 
right  hand  or  to  the  left.  He  has  held  on  his  way  to 
Zion  from  that  time  to  this ;  and  has  been  honourably 
instrumental  in  the  conversion  of  others.  Twenty  years 
ago,  at  Springfield,  in  Ohio,  he  ^ms  ordained  a  deacon 
of  our  Church.  Sumnudo  Watt,  a  fellow-labourer  with 
him  in  the  Gospel,  was  barbarously  killed  by  the  white 
people  who  sought  the  lands  of  the  "Wyandot  Indians ; 
and  this  so  discouraged  the  tribe  that  they  removed  far 
away  across  the  great  river,  into  Kansas.  There,  since 
the  removal  into  this  new  settlement,  this  my  brother 
and  son  in  the  Gospel  has  preached  the  word  of  life  to 
his  persecuted  people ;  and  has  continued  to  be  a  fellow- 
labourer  with  you,  though  you  have  heard  little  or 
nothing  of  him.  My  heart  burhed,  as  with  fire,  when 
I  met  him  to-day.  And  when  I  inquired  of  him  con- 
cerning my  spiritual  children  among  his  tribe,  I  learned 
that  many  of  them  had  gone  home  to  heaven.  Blessed 
be  God  for  ever  sending  me  among  the  poor  Indians 
to  preach  the  Gospel  of  His  Son !     Soon,  very  soon,  I 


THE  GENERAL  CONFERENCE  AT   INDIANAPOLIS.      213 


ere,  since 


liira  con- 


shall  join  my  red  brethren  and  sisters  before  the  Throne. 
Brethren,  pray  and  labour  for  the  Indians !  There 
never  was  a  people  more  robbed  and  maltreated  than 
they.  If  I  were  young,  I  would  compete  with  the 
stoutest  of  you  for  the  privilege  of  bearing,  once  more, 
the  divine  message  of  grace  and  mercy  to  them ;  and 
would  gladly  labour  for  their  salvation.  But  I  am  old, 
and  near  my  end.  Bless  the  Lord,  however,  I  am  a 
happy  old  man  I " 

While  this  was  being  spoken,  the  Indian  —  who 
before  his  conversion  would  have  died  rather  than  shed 
a  tear,  and  who,  according  to  the  spirit  of  his  people, 
would  have  stoutly  chaunted  his  own  death-song  while 
in  the  hands  of  murderous  tormentors — sobbed  and 
cried  like  a  child.  The  tears  gushed  profusely  from  his 
eyes,  chased  their  course  in  streams  down  his  cheeks, 
and  fell  pattering  down  upon  the  floor.  He  tried  to 
speak,  but  was  choked  with  feeling.  Again  he  tried, 
and  gave  utterance  to  a  few  words,  which  a  worn, 
browned  labourer  among  the  Indians  interpreted  for 
the  Conference  as  being, — "  I  am  far  too  small  to  speak 
to  you — I  am  very  small  among  Christian  ministers ; 
but  the  love  of  Christ  is  in  my  heart.  I  am  going,  like 
you,  to  heaven,  and  when  we  meet,  I  will  speak  to  you 
there!" 

The  darkly  sunburnt  interpreter  then  related  to  the 
Conference  how  he  had  heard  the  last  sermon  of  Brother 
Grey  Eyes  preached  to  the  Wyandot  Indians  before 
they  removed  into  the  Far  West ;  and  that  among  other 
words  which  he  heard  the  preacher  deliver  to  the 
assembled  and  weeping  tribe,  and  which  he  must  ever 
remember,  were  the  following:  "My  people,  we  now 
go  from  this  place  of  our  fathers,  who  are  buried  here. 


214      THE   GENERAL   CONFERENCE   AT   INDIANAPOLIS. 


'  :w 


i  ^ 


Wo  must  bid  an  everlasting  furewoll  to  our  mountains, 
our  rivers,  and  our  hunting  grounds.  And,  most  of  all, 
we  must  bid  farewell  to  our  house  of  God,  which  we 
built,  and  wherein  we  have  worshipped  and  rejoiced 
togetlier.  But  God  shall  go  with  us,  and  bless  us  in 
our  now  home."  The  interpreter  further  related  that, 
on  reaching  their  now  settlement.  Grey  Eyes  and  his 
people  built  first  a  house  for  God  before  they  prepared 
habitations  for  themselves ;  and  that,  when  questioned 
by  some  white  men  as  to  their  reason  for  so  doing,  they 
Veplied,  "  Because  we  care  more  for  our  souls  than  for 
our  bodies ;  ,and  more  for  eternity  than  time ! "  As 
may  be  supposed,  the  whole  of  this  scene  produced  a 
grCv  I;  effect  upon  the  assembly.  Amidst  floods  of  tears 
from  more  than  two  hundred  grateful  and  rejoicing 
ministers  of  Jesus  Christ,  there  were  bursts  of  "  Praise 
the  Lord!"  and  "Glory  be  to  God!"  from  every  part 
of  the  State-House.  The  ministers  insisted  upon  making 
a  collection,  there  and  then,  for  Brother  Grey  Eyes  and 
his  tribe.  This  they  did  in  hats  seized  at  the  moment 
for  their  object ;  and  then  the  Indian  proucher  departed 
with  his  treasure,  deeply  wondering  at  the  goodness  of 
both  God  and  man  towards  him. 

There  are  in  the  Conference  other  "■  strong  men,"  to 
use  the  phrase  of  the  Americans  when  they  would 
describe  mental  ability.  Some  of  them  are  ready  and 
powerful  in  debate,  and  others  are  men  of  ripe,  finished 
scholarship.  These  last  are  principally  in  office,  either 
as  editors  of  periodicals,  or  professors  in  colleges ;  and 
it  is  really  a  surprise  to  a  British  Methodist  to  have 
introduced  to  him  so  many  ministers  who  are  in  offices 
not  immediately  connected  with  circuits  or  stations. 
But  when  the  large  nimiber  of  Methodist  publications, 


THE   OENEUAIi  CONFERENCE   AT   INDIANArOLIS.      213 

colleges,  and  acarlomies,  in  relation  with  the  Confercnco, 
are  tukon  into  the  account,  one's  wonder  on  this  ground 
must  greatly  abate.  Our  American  brethren  give  their 
best  men  in  learning  and  scholarship  to  these  objects, 
as  they  ought  to  do ;  and  tlie  demand  for  accomplished 
scholars  is  more  than  equal  to  the  supply. 

The  proceedings  of  the  Conference  are  very  orderly. 
Every  one  that  speaks  must  first  address  the  chair,  and 
must  take  his  turn  as  his  "Mr.  President '*  may  be 
heard  by  the  presiding  Bishop.  Every  one  must  speak 
to  a  resolution  that  has  been  regularly  moved  and 
seconded ;  and  which,  in  due  time,  must  be  handed  up  in 
writing  to  the  secretary.  All,  in  speaking,  must  observe 
the  rules  agreed  upon  for  the  government  of  the  Con- 
ference. If  any  indulgence,  as  to  time,  or  otherwise, 
be  allowed,  it  must  be  by  resolution  to  that  effect. 
Every  man  can  say  what  he  pleases,  so  long  as  he 
speaks  respectfully  and  in  order ;  and  in  the  Conference, 
as  throughout  America,  there  is  a  self-confident  air  in 
public  speaking  exceeding  what  we  see  or  hear,  ordi- 
narily, in  England.  There  seems  to  be  less  fear  of 
critics,  and  a  kind  of  disdain  of  any  care  as  to  propriety 
or  style  in  speaking.  A  man  here  not  only  says  what 
he  has  to  say  without  fear,  but  he  will  sometimes 
tumble  out  a  sentence  "  neck  and  heels  "  together,  or 
send  it  sprawling  into  the  midst  of  the  assembly  on 
"  all  fours."  This  does  not  help  weak  or  vain  men  ; 
but  it  very  effectually  serves  "strong"  and  earnest 
men.  It  enables  them  to  put  out  all  their  strength  to 
the  greatest  advantage. 

One  thing  cannot  fail  to  surprise  an  English  visitor 
to  American  assemblies,  eugnged  in  discussing  and 
deciding    public  matters ;    and  that    is  the   frequent 


,V-i,. ."_  i-.--5'»fc*i.  r »./. 


f,*««2S3E 


•mmmmmm 


216      TUB   GENERAL    CONFERENCE   AT  INDIANAPOLIS. 


,:;      t  t 


!■■: 


question  that  is  raised  as  to  the  judgment  pronounced 
by  the  chair.  We  found  this  in  the  Congress,  at  Wash- 
ington, where  a  good  part  of  a  day  was  spent  in  dis- 
cussing the  accuracy  of  a  decision  pronounced  by  the 
Speaker ;  and  we  find  it  here  in  the  Conference,  where 
the  decision  by  the  presiding  bishop  is  questioned 
daily,  and  sometimes  several  times  in  a  day.  With  us, 
in  England,  the  decision  by  the  chair  is  final ;  and  an 
appeal  from  it  would  be  considered  intrusive  and  dis- 
orderly. But  it  is  not  so  here.  No  offence  is  produced 
by  the  cry  of  "  Question  "  from  any  one,  after  judgment 
has  been  pronounced  upon  the  carrying  of  a  resolution ; 
and  the  bishop  simply  says,  "rise  and  be  counted," 
when  the  reported  numbers  determine  the  result.  But 
it  would  be  an  unpardonable  slander  upon  the  American 
Methodist  ministers  to  represent  them  as  uncourteous ; 
or  as  unconfiding,  either  in  each  other,  or  in  deputed 
visitors.  They  are  highly  respectful  to  one  another  in 
their  language  and  conduct.  They  seem  to  reverence 
human  nature  in  itself;  and  the  man,  as  throughout 
America  generally,  is  more  in  their  estimation  than  any 
accidental  or  adventitious  circumstances  whatever. 

And  so  with  their  treatment  of  stranger  visitors. 
Such  were  received  and  entertained  by  them  in  the 
most  respectful  and  affectionate  manner.  There  were 
introduced  into  their  assembly,  the  Revs.  John  Ryerson 
and  Richard  Jones,  as  representatives  from  the  Metho- 
dist Conference  of  Western  Canada ;  the  Revs.  Robinson 
Scott  and  R.  G.  Cather,  M.A.,  from  the  Methodist 
Churches  of  Ireland ;  as  well  as  Dr.  Hannah  and  myself 
from  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Conference  of  England. 
And  in  all  cases,  and  at  all  times,  they  showed  all  and 
each  of   us  the  most  fraternal  and    most  courteous 


THE   GENERAL  CONFERENCE  AT   INDIANAPOLIS.      217 


attention.  Their  high  veneration  and  filial  regard  for 
British  Methodism  were  plainly  evident  in  their  conduct 
to  us,  as  visitors  from  England.  If  we  had  been  am* 
bassadors  from  princes,  they  could  not  have  shown  us 
greater  favour.  They  provided  for  us  a  residence  with 
the  governor  of  the  State — the  highest  official  per- 
sonage belonging  to  it.  On  our  arrival,  the  bishops 
waited  upon  us  to  inquire  after  our  health  and  comfort ; 
and  to  assure  us  of  the  great  gratification  which  they 
and  their  brethren  had  in  our  visit  to  them.  At  the 
time  appointed  for  our  introduction  to  the  Conference, 
two  of  the  bishops  came  to  the  governor's  house,  to 
accompany  us  to  the  State-House,  and  to  lead  us  up  to 
the  platform.  The  senior  bishop  took  the  chair,  out  of 
his  turn,  in  order  that  he  might  formally  introduce  us 
to  the  Conference;  and  the  whole  assembly  stood  up 
to  receive  us.  In  introducing  us,  the  venerable  Bishop 
Waugh,  with  silvered  head,  expressed  the  de  p  interest 
of  that  hour  to  the  Conference,  the  high  gratification  ot 
all  present  to  receive  among  them  for  their  session, 
brethren  from  the  parent  body ;  and  assured  us  of  the 
cordial  greetings  and  hearty  welcome  given  to  us  by 
all  the  assembly. 

And  when,  after  the  Conference  Letter  from  Eng- 
land had  been  read,  Dr.  Hannah  and  I  addressed  the 
assembly,  responding  to  its  salutations,  and  expressing 
a  desire  that  America  and  England  might  never  be 
disunited,  either  Methodistically  or  nationally,  tears 
burst  forth  in  every  direction,  and  cries  of  "  Never ! 
never ! "  were  heard  from  many  voices.  By  official 
direction,  we  took  our  seats  among  the  bishops;  and 
then,  by  formal  resolutions,  the  Conference  expressed 
and  recorded  the  cordial   welcome  it  gave  to  us  as 


\  \ 


218      THE   GENERAL   CONFERENCE  AT   INDIANAPOLIS. 


.'/ 


S  I 


ti    i 


ii      i 


visitors  from  the  British  Conference ;  the  free  and  full 
reciprocation  it  made  to  our  addresses  on  fraternal  fel- 
lowship; the  fervency  with  which  it  united  in  the 
prayer  to  God  for  unbroken  preservation  of  union 
between  our  respective  Churches  and  countries ;  and 
the  earnest  desire  it  entertained  that,  as  we  might  feel 
disposed,  we  should  participate  at  any  time  in  the 
discussions  of  the  Conference. 

Afterwards  we  were,  by  resolution,  requested  to 
preach  before  the  Conference.  We  did  so;  business 
being  suspended  that  the  brethren  might  attend.  They 
heard  us  attentively  and  joyfully,  for  they  praised  God 
aloud  for  His  word  and  for  His  grace.  They  formally 
recorded  their  thanks  for  our  services,  and  asked  for 
the  publication  of  our  sermons,  that  they  and  their 
people  might  have  a  moi.  "^r^rmanent  memorial  of  our 
visit  to  them. 

In  all  our  private  interviews  with  the  bishops  and 
ministers,  which  have  been  numerous,  we  have  enjoyed 
the  freest  and  friendliest  intercourse.  Many  inquiries 
have  been  made  as  to  the  state  and  prospects  of  "  the 
old  body  "  in  England,  and  as  to  its  extended  agencies, 
both  at  home  and  abroad ;  and  the  most  reverential 
mention  is  made  of  previous  visitors  from  the  British 
Conference,  and  of  fathers  in  English  Methodism  of 
whom  they  have  heard  or  read. 

Letters  of  greeting  and  salutation  were  sent  to  the 
Conference  by  Churches  and  communities  which  were 
not  represented  personally  in  the  assembly.  There  was 
an  interesting  document  from  our  Wesley  an- Methodist 
brethren  in  France,  for  whose  aid  £1000  had  been  con» 
tributed  during  the  year  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Missionary  Society  of  America.     There  was  likewise  a 


THE   GENERAL  CONFERENCE   AT   INDIANAPOLIS.      219 


fraternal  address  from  the  Congregational  Union  of 
England  and  Wales.  These  were  received  read,  and 
responded  to,  in  a  most  cordial  and  appropriate  manner. 
But  the  particulars  of  the  business  of  the  Conference, 
and  the  extent  of  its  relationships,  I  must  reserve  for 
other  letters. 


p  I 


If.    i' 


!     1 


,  ) 


I,ETTEK  XIII. 


THE  GENERAL  CONFERENCE  AT  INDIANAPOLIS. 


Electicn  of  officers — Calfing  the  Roll  of  Delegates — Appointment  of  Com- 
mittees—  Opening  At'dress  of  the  Bishops — Statistics  of  Aracricftn 
Methodi'^m — Education  and  Literature — Coloured  People's  College — 
Periodicals — Missions  to  the  Far  West — To  the  Indians — To  Settlers 
from  Germany,  the  North  of  Europe,  &c. — To  Liberia,  to  Sweden,  Nor- 
way, &c  &c. — Status  (  .victhodism  in  America — The  new  Proposition 
respecting  Slave-holding  Members — Judgment  of  the  Bishops  thereon. 


As  I  have  already  indicated,  the  Conference  assembles 
in  the  State-House  of  Indiana.  The  hall  in  which  it 
holds  its  session  is  large,  and  has  numerous  massive 
pillars  supporting  the  panelled  dome  of  the  half-circular 
part  appropriated  to  business,  in  the  middle  of  the 
building.  Opposite  the  bend  of  the  half -circle  is  a 
platform,  two  steps  high  from  the  floor,  of  sufficient 
length  to  hold  nine  or  ten  persons,  and  with  a  table  in 
front  for  writing  upon.  The  seven  bishops,  with  the 
deputations  from  distant  churches,  sit  upon  arm-chairs 
en  this  platform.  Immediately  before  these,  "  within 
the  bar,"  as  it  is  termed,  are  the  clerks  and  other 
officers;  and  around  them,  on  semicircular  rows  of 
seats,  as  far  as  the  pillars,  are  the  members  of  the  Con- 
ference. Behind  the  pillars,  both  on  the  floe*  and  in 
small  corner  galleries,  are  the  visitors. 


THE   GENERAL   CONFERENCE   AT   INDIANAPOLIS.      221 


nee  assembles 


A  considerable  time  was  occupied,  at  the  opening,  in 
what  is  called  "  organising  the  Conference ;"  that  is, 
in  appointing  its  officers  and  committees.  The  officers 
of  the  Conference  are  not  regarded  as  holding  stations 
of  honour,  like  the  officers  of  the  British  Conferee  ce. 
Though  the  secretary,  for  instance,  must  be  of  good 
standing  among  his  brethren  to  warrant  their  choice 
of  him,  yet  his  election  rests  principally'  on  their  con- 
fidence in  his  business  tact  and  general  capacity.  He 
is  not  so  frequently  associated  with  the  bishops  in 
official  acts  and  documents  as  the  secretary  of  the  Bri- 
tish Conference  is  associated  with  its  president.  He 
has  three  assistant  secretaries,  who  take  the  minutes, 
and  prepare  the  lists  for  him.  The  election  to  each  of 
these  offices  is  by  ballot  of  all  the  members. 

The  Conference  first  opened  at  nine  o'clock  on  Thurs- 
day morning,  May  1st :  Bishop  Waugh,  the  senior 
bishop,  presiding.  After  devotional  exercises  of  read- 
ing the  Scriptures,  singing,  and  prayer,  the  roll  of  the 
Conference  was  called ;  when  the  delegates  from  the 
thirty-eight  Annual  Conferences  ansTV^ered  to  their 
names  in  order,  and  each  presented  his  certificate  of 
election  as  a  representative.  The  names  of  the  Annual 
Conferences  were  called  in  the  following  order  : — 


1 .  N»>'v  Hampshire. 

2.  New  York. 

3.  Troy. 

4.  New  York,  East. 

5.  California. 

6.  Maine. 

7.  Vermont. 

8.  Black  iliver. 

9.  Western  Virginia. 

10.  East  Maine. 

11.  Vittsburg. 


12.  Wyoming. 

13.  Erie. 

14.  Oneida. 

15.  Efist  Genesee. 

16.  Oregon. 

17.  North-We-itern  Indiana. 

18.  Genesee. 

19.  Michigan. 

20.  Ohio. 

21.  Indiana. 

22.  North  Indiauii. 


I    : 


\  * 


222      THE   GENERAL  CONFERENCE  AT   INDIANAPOLIS. 


li- 


lt;' :!     'I 


t  !•  . 


23.  Wisconsin. 

24.  Rock  River. 
26.  North  Ohio. 

26.  Cincinnati. 

27.  Iowa. 

28.  South-Eastem  Indiana. 

29.  Southern  Illinois. 

30.  Illinoia. 


31.  Kentucky. 

32.  Missouri. 

33.  Arkansas. 

34.  Baltimore. 

35.  Philadelphia. 

36.  New  England. 

37.  Providence. 

38.  New  Jersey. 


"With  a  map  of  the  United  States  before  you,  this 
list  will  enable  you  to  learn  something  of  the  localities 
and  the  extent  of  Methodist  territories  represented  in 
this  Quadrennial,  or  General  Conference.  The  delegates 
numbered  from  two  to  fifteen  from  each  of  these  thirty- 
eight  Annual  Conferences,  according  to  their  respective 
distances  and  relative  importance,  making  in  all  between 
200  and  300.  These  representatives,  as  you  will  con- 
jecture, are  in  the  main  the  principal  ministers,  for 
intelligence  and  experience,  of  the  districts  from  w^"* 
they  are  sent  by  their  ministerial  brethren. 

The  Conference,  as  you  know,  is  open  to  the  public. 
Immediately  after  the  election  of  officers,  it  was  occupied 
for  several  sittings  in  fixing  the  times  for  meeting  in  each 
day,  in  appointing  the  parties  who  should  be  responsible 
for  the  daily  publication  of  its  proceedings,  in  electing 
the  committees  likely  to  be  required  for  the  consideration 
of  the  details  of  the  different  departments  of  its  business, 
and  in  agreeing  upon  the  rules  to  be  observed  in  the 
government  of  the  Conference  during  its  session.  The 
standing  Committees  for  business  are  about  ten  in 
number,  and  they  nearly  all  consist  of  thirty-eight 
members — that  is  to  say,  of  one  delegato  from  each  of 
the  thirty-eight  Annual  Conferences.  The  co;nmittee 
on  the  Episcopacy,  on  the  Itinerancy,  on  Boundaries,  on 
Slavery,  on  the  Book  Concern,  on  Missions,  on  Education, 


THE  GENERAL  CONFERENCE  AT  INDIANAPOLIS.   223 


on  the  Tract  Cause,  on  Sunday-schools,  on  Revisals,  and 
on  unfinished  business.  Such  are  the  chief  committees. 
There  are  also  smaller  committees  on  Temperance,  on 
the  Bible  Cause,  on  Temporal  Economy,  and  on  the 
Expenses  of  Delegates.  This  list  of  committees  will 
show  you,  at  a  glance,  what  kind  of  business  is  anti- 
cipated by  the  assembly.  I  need  scarcely  observe  that 
the  early  appointment  of  these  select  bodies  is  well 
calculated  to  facilitate  general  business. 

The  rules  agreed  upon  for  the  government  of  the 
Conference  are  nineteen  in  number,  and  relate  chiefly 
to  the  attendance  of  delegates,  to  the  order  of  presenting 
memorials,  ana  to  the  proposing,  discussing,  and  carry- 
ing of  resolutions.  To  these  rules  the  assembly  is  bound 
to  adhere,  and  they  are  printed  and  circulated  for  the 
use  of  the  delegates.. 

The  bishops  do  not  take  any  prominent  part  in  the 
formal  proposal  and  discussion  of  questions.  They 
simply  preside  in  rotation,  and  give  their  judgment 
when  appf  ^ed  to  on  points  of  law  and  order.  But 
they  preseu  a  joint  address  to  the  General  Conference, 
reporting  upon  the  state  of  Methodism  in  its  several 
departments,  and  offering  suggestions  for  such  altera- 
tions or  improvements  as  they  may  deem  fit  and  neces- 
sary. Bishop  Janes  read  the  address  we  heard,  and  we 
thought  it  most  interesting  and  appropriate.  It  con- 
tained a  statistical  account  of  the  progress  and  extent  of 
the  work  of  God,  as  it  had  come  under  their  supervision 
during  the  four  years  which  had  elapsed  since  the  last 
General  Conference.  Of  this  account,  rendered  by  the 
bishops,  you  will  be  glad  to  learn  something,  inasmuch 
as  it,  with  other  authentic  notices  which  I  may  refer  to, 
will  enable  you  to  judge  in  some  degree  of  what  God  ia 


234      THE   GENERAL   CONFERENCE  AT   INDIANAPOLIS. 


(  ! 


'i  I 


doing  by  his  Methodist  servants  in  this,  the  northern 
section  of  the  United  States  of  America ;  though  mere 
numerals  will  not  in  this  case,  any  more  than  in  others, 
fully  make  known  the  amount  of  good  accomplished  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  through  external  agencies,  upon  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  immortal  men. 

The  address  of  the  bishops  reported  that  among  the 
encouraging  proofs  of  progress  to  be  adduced  were  the 
following: — In  1851,  the  official  minutes  reported  4450 
itinerant  ministers,  6700  local  preachers,  ai  1  721,804 
members  and  probationers ;  while  the  minutes  of  1855 
return  5408  itinerant  ministers,  6610  local  preachers, 
and  799,431  members  and  probationers :  showing  a  net 
increase  during  the  four  years  of  958  itinerant  ministers, 
910  local  preachers,  and  77,627  members  and  pro- 
bationers. 

The  statistics  on  education  and  literature  showed  that 
there  are  fourteen  chartered  Universities,  or  large  col- 
leges, pertaining  to  American  Methodism,  and  in  which 
the  sons  of  the  more  wealthy  Methodists  are  being 
trained  for  useful  and  honourable  service  in  the  state  and 
in  the  Church ;  seventy  Academies  or  seminaries  of  a  high 
class,  affording  ample  literary  advantages  to  Methodist 
youth  of  both  sexes,  and  two  Biblical  or  theological 
institutions,  formed  or  being  formed,  in  distant  parts  of 
the  States.  Common  day-schools,  for  the  purposes  of  an 
ordinary  commercial  education,  you  are  aware,  are  pro- 
vided by  Government  in  all  convenient  parts  of  the 
States:  it  being  understood  that  American  youth  have  a 
legitimate  claim  upon  their  country  for  such  an  educa- 
tion as  shall  fit  them  for  its  service.  And  I  must  say, 
while  the  occasion  serves,  that,  so  far  as  I  could  ascertain, 
the  common  day-schools  are  generally  good  and  effective ; 


THE  GENERAL  CONFERENCE  AT  INDIANAPOLIS.      225 


the  school  buildings  are  usually  healthy  and  commodious ; 
the  teachers  are  duly  qualified  :  they  are  moral ;  in  many 
instances  religious ;  and  the  Scriptures  are  freely  used 
in  the  schools. 

The  Methodist  Sunday-schools  were  reported  by  the 
bishops  as  being  10,469  in  number,  and  as  having 
113,159  officers  and  teachers,  and  579,126  scholars. 
The  number  of  conversions  to  God  in  these  schools 
within  the  four  years,  as  far  as  ascertained,  was  stated 
as  being  65,096. 

There  is  also  a  very  encouraging  movement  now 
being  made  by  the  Methodists  for  the  education  of  the 
youth  of  the  coloured  race.  A  committee  has  obtained 
land  and  buildings  for  an  institution  where  coloured 
youth  of  both  sexes  shall  be  taught  the  higher  branches 
of  learning,  and  from  which  they  shall  be  sent  forth  to 
instruct  and  train,  in  Sabbath  and  week-day  schools,  the 
youth  of  their  own  people.  This  institution  is  situated 
in  the  southern  part  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  so  as  to  be 
accessible  from  the  Southern  States,  and  already  there 
have  been  instances  of  wealthy  and  benevolent  gentlemen 
emancipating  their  slaves,  and  sending  them  to  what  is 
termed  "  The  Coloured  People's  College  "  for  education. 
The  beneficial  results  of  this  institution  to  the  African 
race,  both  in  the  States  and  in  their  own  land,  are  likely, 
under  the  blessing  of  God,  to  be  very  great.  It  will 
bring  forth  to  public  observation  the  capacities  and 
acquirements  of  a  long  abused  and  despised  section  of 
the  human  family,  and  will  provide  well-educated 
teachers  and  ministers  for  the  coloured  children  and 
congregations,  both  in  America  and  Africa.  As  declared 
l^-  the  deliberate  judgment  of  the  General  Conference, 
it  "  will  tend,  under  God,  to  the  most  speedy  and 


I- 


iii 


I 


226     THE  OENEllAL  CONFERENCE  AT   INDIANAPOLIS. 

effectual  elevation  of  the  coloured  race  in  this  country, 
and  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  restoration  of  the 
benighted  millions  of  down-trodden  Africa  to  all  the 
blessings  of  civilisation,  science,  and  religion." 

The  list  of  publications  issued  under  the  direction  of 
the  General  Conference  is  very  large,  and  shows  that  our 
American  Methodist  brethren  know  how  to  appreciate 
the  important  power  of  the  press.  The  Sabbath- school 
Library  has  in  it  1066  volumes,  which  have  been  supplied 
to  it  by  the  Methodist  "  Book  Concern."  The  total 
issues  of  publications  during  the  last  four  years  have 
been  15,588,926  publications  of  all  kinds,  including 
7,226,409  bound  volumes,  and  8,36^,617  tracts  and 
pamphlets.  Some  of  these  are  in  the  German,  Swediwh, 
and  Danish  languages. 

The  Methodist  periodicals  are  exceedingly  numerous, 
and  are  scattered  abroad  throughout  the  Northern 
States  very  largely.  They  number,  in  single  copies  for 
one  year,  9,097,840,  having  for  them  285,461  annual 
subscribers.  Yet  there  are  not  more  then  two  or  three 
of  these  periodicals  which,  at  present,  are  remunerative 
to  any  considerable  extent.  But  the  good  to  be  effected 
is  regarded  in  their  circulation  rather  than  in  the  money 
returns, — and  the  good  which  is  thus  effected  no  doubt 
is  very  great.  I  give  you  the  list  of  these  Conference 
periodicals,  as  reported  by  the  bishops,  that  you  may  see 
what  the  names  and  numbers  of  the  respective  publica- 
tions are : — 


Annual  Subscribers 

Christian  Advocate  and  Journal 

.     2U,875 

Western  Christian  Advocate  . 

.     28,718 

Northern  Christian  Advocate 

.     15,000 

North-western  Christian  Advocate 

.     10,033 

Pittsburg  Christian  Advocate 

.        8000 

•  f 


THE  GENERAL  CONFERENCE  AT    INDIANAPOLIS.      227 


Annunl  Subscribers 

Sundny-scliool  Advocntc 

.     1 1  t,092 

Missioimry  Advocntc  . 

.       31,000 

Chrisliim  Apologist  (German) 

0U67 

Quarterly  Review 

2721 

Niitionnl  Mngaziiie 

.       15,875 

Ladies'  llci)ository 

.      29,580 

These  are  all  conducted  by  editors  appointed  from  the 
ministers  belonging  to  the  General  Conference.  They 
are  for  the  most  part  very  creditable  publications,  and 
each  promotes  and  upholds  spiritual  Christianity.  The 
profits  of  Conference  publications  are  professedly  for  the 
support  of  worn-out  ministers,  but,  since  the  secession  of 
the  Southern  churches  from  the  northern  on  the  ground 
of  Slavery,  the  yearly  profits  have  had  to  be  applied  to 
the  payment  of  the  share  of  capital  in  book  aflPairs  which 
has  been  adjudged  to  the  South. 

The  missionary  department  is  reported  as  being 
cheeringly  prosperous.  As  with  us  in  England,  the 
Methodist  Conference  here  has  under  its  direction  both 
Home  and  Foreign  Missions.  Of  necessity,  it  has  been 
principally  occupied  with  what  may  be  called  Home  Mis- 
sions, though  some  parts  of  this  field  of  its  operation  are 
several  thousand  miles  off*.  The  swarming  emigrants 
from  different  European  countries,  nud  the  rapid  advance 
of  the  American  population  westward,  demands  a  con- 
stant augmentation  of  the  number  of  missionaries,  if  the 
people  are  to  be  overtaken  and  instructed  in  the  way  of 
life.  And  many  of  the  settlers  in  the  Western  States 
would  be  as  destitute  of  the  means  of  grace,  and  very 
soon  as  much  lost  to  religion  and  morality,  as  are  the 
heathens  in  pagan  lands,  if  it  were  not  for  Methodist 
missionaries  going  forth  into  the  backwoods  and  into 
newly-formed  settlements.    So  that  properly,  and  in  the 


'  '1 


228      THE   GENERAL   CONFERENCE   AT   INDIANAPOLIS. 


I' 


r 


? 


- 


right  order,  tho  Conference  has  directed  its  first  mis- 
sionary efforts  to  tho  necessities  of  America,  und  supports 
largely  from  its  mission  fund  the  preachers  sent  forth 
into  California,  Oregon,  Minnesota,  Kansas,  Nebraska, 
and  other  states  and  districts  of  tlio  Far  West,  ns  well 
as  those  employed  in  "  sparsely  "  settled  portions  of  tho 
inner  parts  of  the  country,  where  there  are  not  churches 
large  enough  to  maintain  their  own  ministers. 

Tho  Conference  has  also  missions  to  tho  Indians. 
Nor  are  its  efforts  limited  to  tho  preaching  of  tho 
Gospel  in  tho  ears  of  tho  red-man.  With  the  aid  of 
Government,  it  is  providing  from  five  to  ten  acres  of 
ground  for  each  Indian  family  which  comes  under  its 
influence :  and  this  land,  it  is  said,  can  never  be  sold, 
leased,  or  rented  to  or  by  a  white  man.  By  this  philan- 
thropic measure,  it  is  hoped  that  a  feeling  of  attachment 
to  tho  soil  will  be  created  among  the  native  Indians, 
and  that  they  will  cease  to  wander  about,  and  be  less 
liable  to  moral  corruption  by  vicious  emigrants  and 
settlers.  And  some  of  these  missions  are  in  a  promising 
condition.  Several  Indian  converts  have  built  them- 
selves houses,  and  have  been  reclaimed  from  their 
roaming  and  restless  habits.  Others  have  been  brought 
to  settle  on.  farms  or  in  villages  around  the  missionary 
stations,  so  that  the  Jiissionaries  express  their  hopes  of 
the  work  of  God  being  permanent  among  their  red 
converts.  They  report — "  The  Indians,  under  the 
influence  of  our  missions,  are  all  gradually  improving 
in  the  arts  of  civilised  life.  Their  religious  experience 
in  the  things  of  God  is  generally  quite  clear.  Their 
attendance  on  the  means  of  grace  is  quite  uniform. 
Their  devotions  are  marked  with  great  fervour  and  sim- 
plicity, yet  quite  free  from  excesses."     It  is  also  stated 


TFIE   QENRRAL   CONFERENCE   AT   INDIANAPOLIS.      229 

by  tlio  samo  autlioritics  that,  as  convortH,  tlio  red-nieii 
uro  steudfust  iti  their  Christiuii  lito  und  profossioii — thut 
apostusy  with  them  is  very  rurc,  and  that,  so  Cur  from 
wasting  away  as  do  tlio  unconverted  Indians,  and  as  it 
had  been  suppoKcd  all  the  aborigines  must  waste  away, 
all  of  them  who  havo  received  the  Gospel  increase 
rapidly,  insomuch  that  the  missions  to  them  arc  strait- 
ened for  room.  On  one  occasion  forty  Indians  had 
been  converted  i,  dod,  and  on  another  us  many  us  sixty. 
Bishop  Janes  has  the  supervision  of  these  Indian  mis- 
sions, and  th(  ugh  they  have  been  injured  und  retarded 
by  white  men  who  have  corrupted  the  converts  by  "  lire- 
water,"  iiiid  by  their  profligacies,  yet  they  are  now  in  a 
very  hopeful  f  ;d  promising  condition.  There  uro  at 
present  ton  M»,  ihodist  missionarioa,  exclusively  devoted 
to  this  depunment  of  'evangelical  labour. 

AfiiOHf  •  the  domciitii^  missions  belonging  to  the  General 
Conference  must  be  also  named  the  missioufi  to  the 
Germans,  the  Scandinavians,  the  AVelsh,  the  French, 
and  the  Seamen,  Avithin  the  United  States.  Some  of 
those  are  of  recent  origin,  but  their  growth  has  been 
very  rapid,  more  especially  that  of  the  German  Mission. 
It  is  estimated  that  there  are  700,000  of  this  nation 
within  the  States,  and  to  a  large  portion  of  these  Method- 
ism is  successfully  proclaiming  the  word  of  eternal  life. 
There  are  not  fewer  than  11,778  church  members  and 
probationers  of  the  German  people  now  under  the  pas- 
toral care  and  instruction  of  187  Methodist  missionaries. 
These  have  schools  and  German  literature  plenteously 
supplied  to  them,  and  they  are  confessedly  more  liberal, 
according  to  their  means,  in  the  support  of  the  work  of 
God  among  them  than  any  other  section  of  Christians 
or   Methodists   within   the  States.     The  Scandinavian 


230      THE  GENERAL  CONFERENCE  AT  INDIANAPOLIS. 


Missions  are  those  to  the  Swedes,  Norwegians,  and 
Danes,  who  have  emigrated  in  considerable  numbers  to 
the  west  and  north-west  of  the  States.  Of  these  there 
are  about  1000  church  members  and  probationers,  under 
the  care  of  eighteen  missionaries.  About  fifteen  mis- 
sionaries devote  themselves  to  the  Welsh  and  French 
emigrants,  and  there  are  six  missionaries  to  the  seamen 
who  visit  or  reside  in  the  principal  seaports.  The 
Domestic  Missions,  including  those  to  settlers  not  other- 
wise provided  for,  and  to  the  foreign  populations  within 
the  United  States,  are  681  in  number,  and  they  have 
belonging  to  them  636  missionaries,  and  69,222  church 
members  and  probationers.  The  amount  appropriated 
by  the  Missionary  Society  for  their  support  during  the 
last  year  was  184,093  dollars,  or  nearly  £37,000. 

But  our  Methodist  brethren  on  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic  are  not  neglectful  of  the  foreign  department  of 
missionary  enterprise ;  and  it  is  evident  that  they  are 
now  about  to  put  forth  new  strength  for  important 
services  in  regions  beyond  their  own  land.  As  I  have 
already  stated,  thej''  have  a  flourishing  Mission  in 
Liberia,  which  stretches  over  400  miles  south  of  the 
British  settlements  on  the  coast  of  Western  Africa,  and 
extends  backwards  into  the  country  along  the  river 
lines,  giving  access  to  150,000  of  the  natives.  This 
Mission  has  now  belonging  to  it  an  Annual  Conference 
of  twenty-two  missionaries.  It  numbers  1449  church 
members  and  probationers ;  and  has  a  promising  edu- 
cational department,  which  includes  academies,  day- 
schools,  and  Sabbath-schools.  It  was  visited  last  year 
by  Bishop  Scott;  and  the  whole  Mission  is  now  so 
far  advanced,  that  it  cannot  be  left  longer  without 
constant  episcopal  sup-^rvision. 


THE  GENERAL  CONFERENCE  AT  INDIANAPOLIS.      231 


The  Conference  has  also  foreign  Missions  to  Germany, 
Sweden,  and  Norway,  which,  notwithstanding  opposition 
and  persecution  from  jealous  governments,  hold  on  their 
way,  and  spread  Gospel  light  and  practical  godliness  in 
those  countries.     The  German  Missionaries   are   suffi- 
ciently numerous  to  form  an  Annual  Conference  to  mest 
in  Germany.     The  agents  employed   in  Norway  and 
Sweden  pursue  their  way  noiselessly,  but  successfully. 
These  read  the  Scriptures,  preach,  sing  and  pray,  and 
commune  with  the  people  in  their  own  dwellings ;  and 
this  labour  has  been  owned  of  God,  many  of  the  Swedes 
and  Norwegians  having  enrolled  themselves  as  Metho- 
dists, and  given  proof  of  real  conversion.     The  Scandi- 
navian Missions  are  three  in  number,  under  the  care  of 
five  missionaries;  and  450  members  and  probationers 
are,  up  to  this  time,  the  acknowledged  fruit  of  their 
labours.      These  foreign  missions  to  Europe  are  more 
especially  interesting  with  the  consideration  that  evan- 
gelical religion  in  the  Old  World  is   reviving  under 
the   reciprocal   agency   of  the   New.      The  Germans, 
Swedes,   Norwegians,   and   Danes,   emigrate   in   great 
numbers  to  this  western  continent,  for  the  improvement 
of  their  temporal  condition.     Here  they  become  par- 
takers  of  spiritual   life ;    send  word   to   their  friends 
in  Europe  how,  and  by  what  agency,  they  obtained 
it;    their    friends    send    for   Methodist    Missionaries; 
these  go,  and  the  European  foreigners  are  converted ; 
churches    for   Christ   are    formed   among   them ;    and 
thus,  by  the  all-controlling  beneficence   of  God,  who 
wondrously   "  worketh    all    things    after  the    counsel 
of  His  own  will,"  nation  is  made  to  act  upon  nation, 
people  upon  people ;  while  Methodism,  as  Ui^  work, 
extends  its  blessed  agency  across  continents  and  over 


232      THE   GENERAL   CONEERENCE   AT   INDIANAPOLIS. 

seas,   and    gathers  souls  from  all    the  ends    of   the 
earth. 

Finally,  the  foreign  Missions  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  of  this  continent  include  those  to  South 
America,  China,  and  India ;  and  the  whole  of  its  foreign 
missions  number  71,218  church  members,  who  are 
under  the  care  of  867  missionaries.  To  this  work  the 
yearly  sum  of  86,000  dollars,  or  about  £17,000,  is 
apportioned  out  of  the  general  fund.  The  total  annual 
sum  for  Missions  of  all  kinds  which  are  under  the 
direction  of  the  General  Conference  is  £54,000.  This 
amount  is  raised  very  much  after  the  manner  in  which 
we  raise  our  missionary  income  in  England, — by  col- 
lections after  sermons,  and  at  public  meetings,  and  by 
animal  subscriptions.  No  doubt  this  amount  of  income 
will  largely  and  rapidly  increase ;  though  there  is  some 
complaint  from  the  General  Missionary  Board,  that 
considerable  sums  collected  for  Missions  are  appropriated 
locally,  instead  of  being  sent  to  the  general  fund  for 
proportionate  distribution.  The  Missionary  Committee 
here,  too,  it  may  be  added,  have  it  under  consideration 
to  establish  a  missionary  seminary  to  be  devoted  exclu- 
sively to  candidates  for  the  work  of  missionary  life; 
and  wherein,  it  is  conceived,  they  will  be  wholly  sepa- 
rated from  associations  and  influences  which  tend  to 
distract,  or  divert,  their  minds  from  their  great  object. 

From  the  reports  supplied  of  the  agencies  and  pro- 
gress of  Methodism  in  the  United  States,  as  well  as 
from  what  we  personally  observed,  wliere  we  have  been, 
it  is  plain  that  it  is  as  unrivalled  among  American 
churches  for  the  promotion  of  experimental  and  prac- 
tical godliness,  as  it  is  for  attention  to  education  and  ' 
literature,  and  to  institutions  for  general  benevolence. 


THE  GENERAL   CONFERENCE  AT  INDIANAPOLIS.      233 


Indeed,  it  may  be  spoken  of  as  having  the  prestige 
among  the  churches  which  the  Church  of  England  has 
in  our  own  country ;  and  yet,  as  possessing  and  exert- 
ing the  vigour  and  evangelistic  activity  of  British 
"Wesleyan  Methodism.  It  is  to  be  found  in  almost 
every  nook  and  corner  of  the  thirty-one  independent 
states  and  nine  territories  which  comprise  the  federal 
union.  In  its  communion  are  governors  of  states, 
senators,  and  representatives  in  congress,  judges  of  the 
supreme  court,  as  well  as  cf  the  states.  Taking  the 
northern  and  southern  sections  of  Methodism  together, 
and  including  two  or  three  small  offshoots  still  bearing 
its  name,  it  numbers  1,600,000  full -church  members, 
and  has  regularly  under  its  religious  instruction  six 
millions  (or  more  than  one-fifth)  of  the  entire  popula- 
tion of  the  United  States.  In  this  new  country  every 
section  of  the  Church  of  Christ  has  "  a  fair  field  and  no 
favour ;"  and  without  old  institutions  to  obstruct  its 
course,  Methodism  here  has  shown  its  surpassing  elas- 
ticity and  might. 

There  was  another  subject  set  forth  in  the  address  by 
the  bishops  to  the  General  Conference,  which,  as  soon 
as  it  was  named,  absorbed  the  attention  of  all  the 
brethren;  and  that  was — Slavery.  This  subject  had 
been  presented  by  the  bishops  to  the  thirty-eight 
Annual  Conferences,  in  its  relation  to  church  member- 
ship :  some  parties  having  sought  a  change  in  the  dis- 
cipline of  the  church,  by  which  all  slaveholders  in  the 
border  churches  would  be  peremptorily  excluded  from 
them.  This  attempt,  it  was  felt  by  some,  proposed  an 
alteration  of  the  constitution  upon  which  they  had 
originally  adhered  to  the  northern  anti-slaveholding 
churches ;  and  would  be  perilous  to  the  interests  of  the 


234     TTIE  GENERAL  CONFERENCE  AT  INDIANAPOLIS. 

large  number  of  slaves  on  the  borders,  who  were 
members  and  hearers  in  Methodism,  and  who  might, 
through  such  an  extreme  act  of  ecclesiastical  legislation, 
be  deprived,  at  the  will  of  their  offended  masters,  of 
their  religious  privileges.  This  difference  of  judgment 
concerning  the  proposed  measure  had  already  produced 
considerable  excitement ;  and,  after  earnest  discussions 
upon  it  in  the  Annual  Conferences,  the  proposition  had 
failed  to  secure  the  requisite  number  of  votes  (three- 
fourths)  to  secure  its  legal  recommendation  for  adoption 
by  the  General  Conference. 

Nevertheless,  it  was  resolved  by  the  northern  men 
to  propose  the  said  measure  in  this  Conference.  This 
was  known  by  the  bishops ;  and,  in  their  address,  they 
expressed  unitedly  their  strong  doubts  that  such  a 
measure,  however  desirable,  could  be  constitutionally 
adopted  by  the  General  Conference,  unless  it  should 
have  alio  the  requisite  concurrence  of  the  Annual  Con- 
ferences. And  after  reporting  upon  the  numbers,  and 
relative  numbers,  of  the  parties  who  would  be  affected 
by  the  proposed  measure, — namely,  the  churches  in 
slave  territory  belonging  to  six  Annual  Conferences, 
which  have  connected  with  them  500,000  or  600,000 
white  hearers,  and  143,000  white  members  and  pro- 
bationers ;  together  with  upwards  of  100,000  coloured 
hearers,  and  more  than  28,000  coloured  church  mem- 
bers, some  of  whom  are  slaves, — they,  the  bishops, 
declared  their  deliberate  opinion  on  the  effect  of  the 
existing  discipline  of  the  Church  in  the  following 
words : — 

"  In  our  judgment,  the  existence  of  these  conferences  and  churches, 
under  their  present  circumstances,  does  not  tend  to  extend  or  perpetuate 
slavery.     They  are  known  to  be  organised  under  a  discipline  which  charac- 


THE  GENERAL  CONFERENCE  AT  INDIANAPOLIS.  235 


terises  slavery  as  a  great  evil ;  which  makes  the  slaveholder  ineligible  to  any 
official  station  in  the  Church  where  the  Ip.ws  of  the  State  in  which  he  lives 
will  admit  of  emancipation,  and  permit  the  liberated  slave  to  enjoy  freedom ; 
which  disfranchises  a  travelling  minister  who,  by  any  means,  becomes  the 
owner  of  a  slave  or  slaves,  unless  he  execute,  if  it  be  practicable,  a  legal 
emancipation  of  such  slaves  conformably  to  Ihe  laws  of  the  State  wherein  he 
lives ;  which  makes  it  the  duty  of  all  tlie  ministers  to  enforce  upon  all  the 
members  the  necessity  of  teaching  their  slaves  to  read  the  word  of  God, 
and  allowing  thein  time  to  attend  upon  the  public  worship  of  God  on  our 
regular  days  of  divine  service;  which  prohibils  the  buying  and  selling  of 
men,  wonu'n,  and  children,  with  an  intention  to  enslave  them,  and  inquires, 
What  shall  be  done  for  the  extirpation  of  the  evil  of  slavery  ? 

"  With  this  discipline  freely  circulated  among  the  people,  or  certainly  within 
the  reach  of  any  who  desire  to  examine  it,  and  with  other  churches  existing 
in  the  same  territory  without  these  enactments,  these  societies  and  con- 
ferences  have  either  by  elective  affinity  adhered  to,  or  from  prel'erence  asso- 
ciated with,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  In  a  few  instances  their 
church  relations  have  ex}.  jcd  them  to  some  peril,  and  in  numerous  cases  to 
sacrifices.  But  such  have  been  their  moral  worth,  and  Christian  excellence, 
and  prudent  conduct,  that,  generally,  they  have  been  permitted  to  enjoy 
their  religious  immunities,  and  serve  and  worship  God  according  to  their 
consciences." 

"When  the  reading  of  this  quadrennial  address  of  the 
bishops  to  the  General  Conference  was  concluded,  it  was, 
without  discussion  or  remark,  referred,  by  the  distri- 
bution of  its  several  parts,  to  the  respective  committees 
appointed  for  the  consideration  of  the  different  subjects 
which  it  set  forth ;  and  was  ordered  to  be  printed  for 
the  use  of  the  delegates  in  their  deliberations.  And 
now  the  business  of  the  Conference  fairly  commenced. 
The  roll  of  the  members  had  been  called ;  the  com- 
mittees had  been  formed ;  the  principal  subjects  for 
consideration  had  been  presented  in  the  address  by  tho 
bishops ;  and  the  assembly  evidently  set  itself  in  order 
for  deliberative  proceedings. 


LETTER  XIV. 


THT  GENJ'RAI   (  TiNFERENCE  AT  INDIANAPOLIS. 


ConferciRC  Business — Nature  of  Couunittces  and  tlicir  Mode  of  Picc'lure — 
Lliief  Subjects  oi  Interest  in  the  Proceedings  of  Conference — New  Metro- 
])olitaii  Ihurcli  for  New  York — The  Bible  Cause — Cause  of  Religious 
Eiluojition — Appeals  from  Censured  and  Expelled  Ministers — Extension 
uf  Time  [\>v  ;<  Alinisier's  Stay  in  a  (Mrcuit — Discussion  respecting  the 
Ofliec  ol'  "Prt-i'i^ug  Eidct'" — Grand  Debate  respecting  Slavery. 


The  business  of  the  Conference  being  necessarily  multi- 
farious, it  seems  absolutely  requisite,  in  order  to  expedite 
its  transactions,  that  so  many  and  such  varied  concerns 
shoidd  be  previously  referred  to  the  committees  for 
preparation  and  arrangement.  By  this  means  much 
time  is  saved  which  might  otherwise  be  consumed  in 
confused  debate.  I  have  already  noted  for  you  the 
appointment  of  these  committees  in  what  is  termed  the 
organisation  of  Conference,  but  it  may  be  well  to  explain 
to  you  their  powers  and  services.  There  are,  as  I  stated, 
ten  of  them,  distinguished  by  the  titles  I  named. 

1.  The  Committee  on  the  Ejmcopacy  has  under  its 
examination  the  whole  administration  and  conduct  of 
the  bishops  for  the  preceding  four  years ;  and  as  there 
is  one  minister  on  this  committee  from  each  of  the 
Annual  Conferences,  no  judicial  act  of  the  episcopate 
can  well  be  left  unnoticed.  If  there  be  any  complaint, 
or  anything  appearing  doubtful  to  the  committee,  the 


THE  GENERAL  CONFERENCE  AT  INDFANAPOLIS.   237 


bishop  concerned  is  respectfully  summoned  before  it  to 
explain  or  to  defend  his  conduct,  as  the  case  may  be. 
And  in  the  end,  when  due  inquiry  has  been  made,  the 
committee  report  to  the  Conference  the  result  of  its 
examinations,  and  recoramffnd  approval  or  condemnation. 
The  freest  and  most  unrestricted  inquiry  and  debate  are 
admitted  in  the  Conference  when  the  report  of  any 
committee  is  presented.  But  from  the  decision  of  the 
General  Conference,  whether  it  approves  or  rejects  the 
advice  of  the  committee,  a  bishop  has  no  appeal :  it  is 
the  final  tribunal.  Provision  is  made,  in  the  "Disci- 
pline," for  the  suspension  of  a  bishop  by  a  committee 
composed  of  his  brethren  and  presiding  elders,  during 
the  intervals  of  the  quadrennial  conference,  if  such  com- 
mittee be  satisfied  that  he  has  transgressed  ;  but  he  has 
still  an  appeal  left  to  the  General  Conference. 

2.  The  Committee  on  Itinerancy  examines  the  minutes 
of  the  Annual  Conferences  during  the  four  previous 
years,  and  reports  thereon  to  the  General  Conference, 
•according  to  its  view  of  the  observance  or  infringement 
of  the  "  Discipline  ;"  the  Conference  then  a^-^^proving  or 
censuring,  as  the  case  may  seem  to  them  to  require. 

3.  The  Committee  on  Boundaries  has  assigned  to  it  all 
applications  for  alterations  in  the  boundary  lines  of  the 
Annual  Conferences,  and  for  the  formation  of  new  con- 
ferences. The  labours  of  this  committee,  through  the 
ever-changing  character  of  the  population,  are  neces- 
sarily great.  As  many  as  nine  new  conferences  have 
been  added  at  this  session :  increasing  the  number  of 
Annual  Conferences  for  the  north  of  the  United  States 
to  a  total  of  forty- seven. 

4.  The  Committee  on  Slavery  has  referred  to  it  for 
consideration  all  petitions  and  memorials  on  that  subject. 


238      THE  GENERAL   CONFERENCE  AT   INDIANAPOLIS. 


and  is  required  to  collect  and  classify  the  proposals,  to 
inquire  into  their  agreement  with  the  established  con- 
stitution of  the  Church,  and  to  report  its  opinions  and 
recommendations  thereon  to  the  Conference.  If  in  this 
or  any  other  committee  a  minority  is  not  satisfied  with 
the  report  of  the  majority,  it  can  draw  up  one  for  itself, 
and  present  the  same  to  the  Conference,  and  the  Con- 
ference can  adopt  either  report. 

6.  The  Committee  on  the  Book  Concern  examines  the 
reports  from  the  book  establishment  and  repositories, 
and  any  recommendations  that  may  have  been  made  for 
improvement  in  the  publications  of  Methodism,  or  with 
regard  to  their  circulation. 

6.  The  Committee  on  Missions  considers  all  business 
relating  to  missions,  whether  home  or  foreign.  In  the 
intervals  between  the  quadrennial  conferences,  the  mis- 
sions are  under  the  direction  of  a  "  Board  of  Managers," 
consisting  of  sixteen  Methodist  ministers  and  sixteen 
Methodist  laymen,  who  are  annually  elected,  with  the 
bishops  as  presidents  and  vice-presidents,  and,  at  the 
General  Conference,  their  acts  and  administration  are 
reviewed  by  this  committee,  who  report  to  the  Conference 
as  they  may  deem  necessary.  The  Corresponding  Se- 
cretary and  Treasurer  of  the  Board  of  Managers  are 
appointed  by  the  General  Conference,  and  are  also 
amenable  to  it. 

7.  The  Committee  on  Edncation  examines,  prepares, 
and  recommends  to  the  General  Conference  whatever 
measures  may  seem  advisable  in  relation  to  seminaries, 
colleges,  universities,  or  Biblical  institutes. 

8.  The  Committee  on  Sunday-schools  inquires  into 
the  system  of  instruction  pursued,  the  character  of  the 
books  and  publications  employed  in  Sunday-schools, 


u 


mis- 


>> 


THE  GENERAL  C0NFEREX02  AT  INDIANAPOLIS.      239 

and  recommends  anything  to  the  Conference  which  it 
deems  likely  to  promote  their  efficiency. 

9.  The  Tract  Committee  inquires  into  the  system  and 
agency  in  use  for  tract  distribution,  as  well  as  into  the 
character  of  the  tracts  circulated,  and  reports  thereon  to 
the  Conference. 

10.  The  Committee  on  Reviscds  examines  into  all 
verbal  alterations  to  be  made  in  the  "  Discipline,"  and 
other  Conference  records,  so  that  the  words  may  suitably 
express  the  meaning  intended ;  and  they  recommend 
accordingly. 

These  are  the  general,  or  standing  committees,  which 
are  composed  of  one  delegate  from  each  annual  con- 
ference, chosen  by  his  co-delegates  of  the  conference  to 
which  he  belongs ;  and  each  committee  chooses  its  own 
chairman.  There  are,  in  addition  to  these,  a  few  special 
committees  appointed  as  cases  may  require,  such  as  the 
Committees  on  Temperance,  the  Bible  Cause,  &c.,  which 
I  have  already  named.  These  committees  have  appor- 
tioned to  them  the  business  to  be  prepared  for  the 
General  Conference,  as  it  may  arise,  on  the  presentation 
of  memorials,  the  reading  of  minutes,  &c.  The  memorials 
presented  are  very  numerous.  Several  days  have  been 
occupied  with  the  mere  presentation  of  them.  They  are 
of  all  possible  kinds — from  conferences,  churches,  com- 
mittees, and  individuals ;  and,  to  obtain  them  for  consi- 
deration in  committee,  the  roll  of  each  annual  conference 
is  called,  when  the  delegates  present  in  rotation  what- 
ever they  may  have  brought  with  them,  or  whatever 
may  have  been  sent  to  them  of  this  documentary  nature 
for  consideration  by  the  General  Conference.  This  year 
there  were  Memorials  for  Lay  Representation,  Local 
Preachers*  Conferences,  and  Conferences  of  Coloured 


240      THE   OENEnAL   CONFERENCR   AT   INDIANAPOLIS. 

Ministers,  as  well  as  for  other  proposed  changes,  which 
came  prominently  before  the  Conference  for  discussion 
and  for  formal  jurlgmcnt. 

Among  the  more  important  subjects  for  the  "  action  " 
of  the  Conference,  as  the  brethren  hero  are  accustomed 
to  term  their  united  decisions  on  practical  matters,  were 
those  of— 

1.  A  Metropolitan  Church  to  be  erected  in  Now  York, 
as  a  grateful  memorial  by  Methodists  to  Almighty  God 
for  his  merciful  goodness  in  employing  them  so  success- 
fully and  extensively  in  spreading  scriptural  holiness 
through  the  land.  This  church  is  to  be  supi)lied  by 
ministers  in  rotation,  appointed  for  a  term  of  years 
by  the  bishops,  from  all  parts  of  the  country.  The 
ground  for  the  structure  has  been  purchased,  and  a 
considerable  sum  of  money  has  already  been  contributed, 
through  the  several  annual  conferences,  towards  it. 

2.  An  Annual  Conference  in  Germany ;  the  work  of 
God  having  prospered  there  until  this  'measure  has 
become  necessary  for  the  wants  of  the  people,  and  for 
the  admission  and  over-sight  of  ministers.  Such  a 
conference  was  authorised,  and  is  to  be  presided  over  by 
one  of  the  bishops. 

3.  The  Bible  Cause,  which  had  its  representative  in 
the  Conference — the  Rev.  Dr.  Holditch,  a  Methodist 
minister,  and  one  of  the  general  secretaries,  who  reported 
that  the  income  of  the  Bible  Society  for  the  last  year  was 
393,167  dollars,  or  £78,000,  and  that  its  issues  for  the 
year  had  been  668,225  volumes.  The  Society  publishes 
the  Bible,  entire  and  in  parts,  in  ten  modern  languages, 
besides  what  it  sends  forth  in  Indian  and  African 
dialects,  and  is  now  engaged  in  an  effort  for  "  a  thorough 
exploration  and  re -supply  "  of  the  entire  region  of  the 


THE   OENEUAL   CONFERENCE  AT   INDIANAPOLIS.      241 


ve  111 

lodist 

orted 

r  was 

r  the 

ishes 

ages, 

ricaa 

ough 

£  the 


United  States.  The  report  was  cordially  received  by 
the  General  Conference,  and  the  Society  was  earnestly 
recommended  to  the  annual  conferences  and  to  the 
churches  for  support. 

4.  The  Tract  Cause,  which,  for  a  widely-scattered 
population,  and  for  passing  emigrants  from  all  nations, 
is  very  important.  This  cause  has  its  board  of  managers 
regularly  appointed,  and  systematically  issues  tracts  in 
several  languages,  to  the  extent  of  many  hundreds  of 
thousands  per  year. 

5.  The  lleligious  Education  of  the  youth  of  Method- 
ism. •  This  is  felt  by  our  American  brethren,  as  it  is 
with  us  in  England,  to  be  a  most  important  object,  for 
they,  like  us,  lament  the  estrangement  of  too  many  sons 
and  daughters  from  the  church  of  their  fathers.  One 
question  formally  discussed  and  resolved  upon  was  "  The 
Relation  of  Baptised  Children  to  the  Church."  This 
subject  drew  very  earnest  attention,  and  the  issue  of  the 
consideration  given  to  it  was  a  declaration  of  the  claims 
of  such  children,  as  covenant  members  of  the  kingdom  of 
God,  upon  ministers  for  pastoral  instruction  and  care ; 
and  a  formal  injunction  to  ministers  to  register,  counsel, 
and  watch  over  them,  for  their  admission,  under  appro 
priate  circumstances,  into  the  Church. 

The  Sabbath-schools,  too,  were  considered  in  their 
relation  to  the  Conference  and  to  the  churches,  and 
recommendations  were  given  for  the  observance  of  plans 
which  might  render  them  more  efficient.  A  Sunday- 
Bcboul  "Demonstration"  in  one  of  the  churches  of 
ftidiunapolis  was  authorised  and  attended  by  the  Con- 
ference. The  children  were  assembled  and  addresses 
delivered  to  them  under  the  presidency  of  our  host,  the 
governor  of  the  State.     This  was  a  most  interesting 

R 


242      THE  OENERAL  CONFERENCE   AT  INDrANAPOLTS. 


sorvico.  ^Jos^t  nppropriuto  unci  afrocting  addresses  wore 
given  by  .uinlstors  from  all  parts — somo  relating  what 
God  was  doing  by  Sunday-scliools  in  Oregon,  in  Cali- 
fornia, and  on  the  shores  of  the  Pucific.  One  sunburnt, 
attenuated  minister  told  of  a  time  ho  had  known  in 
California,  the  land  of  gold-mines,  when  a  little  child 
was  so  great  a  novelty  that,  where  it  was  found,  rough 
miners  gathered  round  it  witli  intense  interest,  and  wept 
over  it  in  remembrance  of  home  associations  ;  and  when 
a  minister  of  his  acquaintance  called  back  a  mother 
retiring  from  the  congregation  because  her  infant  was 
crying,  publicly  stating  that  its  little  voice  was  sweeter 
music  than  either  he  or  his  people  had  heard  for  months 
past.  But  now,  he  said,  through  the  rush  of  emigrants 
for  the  gold-mines,  children  had  become  numerous,  and 
many  hundreds  of  them,  whose  parents  were  of  various 
nations,  were  gathered  into  Sunday-schools,  and  were 
rising  up  useful  and  honourable  members  of  the  Church 
and  of  society. 

Another  minister  related  how  he  and  his  colleague 
first  dropped  anchor  in  the  harbour  of  San  Francisco,  at 
a  time  when  there  was  no  city,  but  only  a  few  shaky 
tenements  and  an  old  windmill ;  how  they  there  opened 
the  first  Sunday-school  on  the  coast  of  the  P-'  ^ific  Ocean  ; 
and  how  they  had  since  been  in  Oregon,wliere  fifty-eight 
Sunday-schools  were  now  established,  with  10,000 
volumes  in  use ;  and  that  in  tliese  schools,  during  the 
past  year,  there  had  been  119  conversions  to  God. 

There  was  also  a  meeting  held  of  the  committee  and 
friends  of  general  education,  on  a  Saturday  afternoon, 
presided  over  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thompson  (a  highly- 
accomplished  man,  of  English  birth),  at  which  Dr. 
Hannah  gave  a  very  clear  and  interesting  account  of 


THE  GENERAL  CONFERENCE  AT   INDIANAPOLIS      243 

the  Wesloyan  Theological  Institution  in  England,  as  to 
its  character,  working,  und  beneKciul  iuHuonco  upon  tlio 
Connexion ;  and  I  spoke  of  our  duy-scliool  operations 
for  the  poor,  and  of  Kingswood  und  Woodhouso  Grove 
{Schools  as  seminaries  provided  for  the  education  of 
ministers'  sons.  The  establishment  of  Biblical  institutes 
in  America,  the  rapid  multiplication  of  ^Methodist  col- 
leges and  seminaries  here,  induced  many  inquiries  con- 
cerning the  educational  movements  of  ;^^ethodism  in 
our  own  land,  which  wo  answered  as  well  as  wo  could. 

The  report  of  the  state  and  prospects  of  the  institution 
for  tho  education  of  coloured  youth  was  adopted  by  the 
Conference — all  breathing  tho  most  tender  compassion 
towards  the  long-degraded  African  race  within  the 
States,  expressing  tho  most  encouraging  hopes  of  their 
elevation  to  honour  and  usefulness  through  such  an 
institution,  and  most  earnestly  recommending  it  to  tho 
benevolent  in  Methodism,  and  the  patriotic  and  philan- 
thropic in  the  country  at  large. 

But  the  subjects  discussed  at  greatest  length,  and 
which  excited  tho  deepest  interest  in  tho  Conference, 
were : — 

1.  The  appeals  by  censured  and  expelled  ministers 
against  the  decisions  of  their  annual  conferences.  These 
appeals  were  fourteen  or  fifteen  in  number,  and  were 
conducted  in  the  most  formal  and  court-like  manner. 
The  case  was  first  stated,  and  the  *'  action"  of  the  Annual 
Conference  read  from  its  journal.  Then  the  appellant, 
in  person  or  by  substitute,  pleaded.  In  most  cases  a  sub- 
stitute was  engaged ;  and  he,  as  well  as  the  chosen  ad- 
vocate for  the  Conference,  being  usually  a  minister  of  great 
ability,  the  pleadings  were  not  unfrequently  sustained 
in  a  very  masterly  manner.     In  the  majority  of  cases 


i 


m. 


244      THE   GENERAL  CONFERENCE   AT   INDIANAPOLIS. 


appealed  against  this  year,  either  the  decisions  of  the 
annual  conferences  were  reversed,  or  the  cases  were  sent 
back  with  directions  for  new  trials.  Some  of  these 
appeals  occupied  several  sittings,  and,  with  the  increase 
of  annual  conferences,  and  the  general  spread  of 
Methodism,  the  difRculty  of  hearing  all  such  appeals  in 
the  General  Conf  3rence  is  increasingly  felt.  But,  though 
urged  to  consider  this  difficulty  by  the  bishops,  and  to 
try,  if  practicable,  to  provide  some  substitute  in  a  large 
and  wisely- selected  committee,  yet  the  brethren  are  not 
disposed  to  give  up  this  privilege  of  supreme  judicature 
at  present — the  manifest  difficulty  presenting  itself  at 
once  of  erecting  a  court  of  final  appeal,  in  the  form  of 
a  select  committee,  that  should  have  more  weight  and 
authority  than  an  annual  conference. 

2.  The  extension  of  time  for  a  minister's  stay  in  a 
circuit,  or  residence  at  a  station.  The  ministers  are 
appointed  by  the  bishops,  in  council  with  the  presiding 
elders ;  and  the  limit,  at  present,  of  their  continuance  at 
one  place  is  two  years.  Some  of  the  ministers  desire  to 
extend  it  to  three,  or  even  to  five  years,  and  have 
memorialised  the  Conference  accordingly.  But,  on 
examination  of  these  memorials,  the  committee  reported 
that  it  was  not  in  evidence  that  any  considerable  number 
of  the  people  desired  such  alteration  ;  and,  jealous  of  any 
symptoms  of  decline  in  the  spirit  of  itinerancy,  the 
Committee  on  the  Itinerancy  recommended  that  no 
change  bo  made  by  the  Conference.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered that,  in  not  a  few  instances,  an  American  Methodist 
minister  preaches  three  or  four  times  a  week  in  the  same 
church,  and  that  his  place  is  not  taken  by  another, 
except  once  a  quarter  by  the  presiding  elder ;  so  that, 
within  his  two  years,  he  has  preached  oftener  to  the 


THE   GENERAL  CONFERENCE   AT   INDIANAPOLIS.      245 


same  people  than  an  English  Methodist  minister  does 
ordinarily  in  three  years.  This  consideration  lias,  no 
doubt,  its  influence  both  with  ministers  and  people  in 
determining  them  against  the  proposed  change. 

3.  A  most  earnest  discussion  arose  on  the  report  by 
the  committee  on  the  exclusion  or  modification  of  the 
office  of  "  presiding  elder."     This  seems  to  have  been 
an  old  question  for  dispute,  and  an  alteration  had,  this 
time,   been  memorialised  for  by  some  large  and   in- 
fluential circuits.     The   presiding  elder  is   an   officer 
chosen  and  appointed  by  a  bishop  to  act  for  him  in 
overlooking   the  spiritual   and   other   interests  of  the 
churches  within  a  given  limit,  for  a  period  of  four  years  ; 
and  who  receives  his  support  from  the  joint  contributions 
of  the  circuits  he  overlooks.     He  has,  in  the  absence  of 
the  bishop  for  whom  he  acts,  the  charge  of  all  the 
elders,   deacons,   travelling  and  local    preachers,   and 
exhorters.    He  presides  at  quarterly  conferences  for  the 
circuits  (what  we  call  quarterly  meetings) ;  hears  appeals 
there    against    the    preachers,   deacons,   or   stewards ; 
changes,  receives,  or   suspends   preachers,  as   may   be 
deemed  necessary,  during  the  intervals  of  the  annual 
conferences ;   inquires  into   the   state  of  the   circuits, 
churches,  and  schools ;  and  has  the  power  of  decision  on 
the  laws  governing  the  difierent  cases.,  subject  to  appeals 
to  the  next  annual  conference.     Ho  reports  the  state  of 
the  churches  to  the  bishop  of  his  district,  and  gives  the 
bishop  counsel  for  the  stationing  of  ministers. 

There  were  as  many  as  ninety  presiding  elders  in 
this  General  Conference,  delegated  by  tlicir  brethren  of 
the  Annual  Conference.  The  memorialists,  in  some 
instances,  sought  to  have  the  presiding  elder  stationed 
like  another  minister  in  a  circuit  within   his  district. 


246      THE   GENERAL   CONFERENCE  AT   INDIANAPOLIS. 


from  which  circuit  they  proposed  that  he  should  receive 
his  support  and  travelling  expenses.  In  other  instances, 
the  memorialists  proposed  that  each  Annual  Conference 
should  regulate  its  own  economy  with  regard  to  this 
office ;  while  some  memorialists  suggested  that  certain 
circuits  named  might  be  excepted  from  the  support  of 
this  office.  Some  of  the  ministers  think  and  say  they 
can  perform  all  the  work  of  a  presiding  elder  in  their 
own  circuits,  and  that  they  do  not  need  his  visits ;  while 
some  of  the  people  regard  the  office  as  an  unnecessary 
charge  upon  them.  But  the  majority  both  of  preachers 
and  people  are  satisfied  of  the  propriety  of  preserving 
the  office;  and  the  action  of  the  General  Conference 
was,  that  no  change  in  regard  to  it  should  be  made  at 
present. 

4.  The  appointment  of  a  bishop,  required  for  Liberia, 
was,  as  I  have  before  stated,  another  subject  of  earnest 
discussion.  The  Missionary  Committee  recommended 
that,  if  a  suitable  person  could  not  be  found  in  this 
Conference  willing  to  be  ordained  and  go  forth  as 
resident  bishop  for  Africa,  the  Annual  Conference  in 
Liberia  should  be  directed  to  elect  an  elder  in  good 
standing  among  them,  and  send  him  to  America  for 
episcopal  ordination  by  the  bishops, — who  should  ordain 
him  under  the  express  conditions,  that  the  churches  of 
which  he  should  have  the  oversight  should  still  belong 
to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  America,  and 
that  his  jurisdiction,  as  a  bishop,  should  be  limited  to 
Africa.  Some  objections  were  raised  against  this  recom- 
mendation of  the  committee,  on  the  ground  of  the 
discipline,  which  requires  that  a  bishop  shall  travel 
through  the  connexion  at  large,  Ancl  some  few  were 
for  separating  the  Liberian  ohurches  to  act  for  them- 


I 


l*W.i«*=!^'»'=« 


smif ..!  *.  : 


THE  GENERAL  CONFERENCE  AT   INDIANAPOLIS.      2  i7 


' 


selves,  recommending  them  to  follow  the  discipline  and 
government  of  the  American  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  In  the  end,  however,  the  substance  of  the 
committee's  recommendation  was  adopted  by  the  Con- 
ference; that  seeming  the  best  and  most  practicable 
conclusion  to  come  to  under  the  circumstances. 

5.  Another  question  of  manifest  interest  was,  the 
appointment  of  officers  and  editors  to  the  institutions 
and  periodicals  in  connection  with  the  Conference. 
These  numerous  offices  lad  tr  be  filled  up ;  but  the 
appointments  to  them  were  purposely  and  professedly 
delayed,  until  it  should  be  i.i^en.  how  the  votes  were 
given  on  leading  public  questions ;  the  different  parties 
in  the  assembly  resolving,  so  far  as  they  could,  to  place 
in  those  offices  ministers  with  views  similar  to  their 
own.  Several  attempts  were  made  to  hasten  such 
appointments,  and  to  fix  early  dates  on  which  they 
should  be  made ;  but  the  attempts  did  not  succeed  ;  and 
delay  was  avowed  on  the  ground  I  have  stated.  On 
great  questions  the  votes  are  taken  singly,  in  "  Ayes  " 
and  "  Noes ;"  so  that  every  man's  vote  may  be  publicly 
known  and  accurately  recorded.  In  the  end,  nearly  all 
the  editors  of  newspapers  and  Conference  periodicals 
were  changed,  in  order  that  the  most  decided  anti- 
slavery  sentiments  might  be  put  forth  on  behalf  of  the 
Conference.  This  great  and  sweeping  change  of  officers, 
however,  is  not  deemed  very  notable  here,  reappoint- 
ments not  being  common. 

6.  But  the  great  absorbing  question,  as  you  will 
anticipate,  was  that  of  Slavery.  The  particular  question 
in  relation  to  it,  as  presented  to  the  Conference  in 
memorials,  &c.,  was,  whether  the  rule  of  membership 
gliould  be  made  to  exclude  all  slaveholders.     The  rules, 


248      THE  GENERAL  CONFERENCE  AT  INDIANAPOLia 


I  H 


)/ 


as  they  now  stand,  exclude  all  slaveholders  not  only 
iTrom  the  ministry,  but  from  every  office  in  Methodism. 
The  rules  also,  by  directions  and  injunctions,  discoim- 
tenanco  and  condemn  slavery,  as  an  evil  before  God  and 
man.  Eut,  as  the  civil  government  allows  slavery,  and, 
in  some  instances,  forbids  eraa  jcipation,  it  was  found 
impracticable,  without  making  a  man  a  rebel  against 
civil  government,  to  carry  out  a  rule  against  slavehold- 
ing  membership.  ISuch  a  rule  has  not,  therefore,  been 
enforced.  This  has  dissatisfied  many,  especially  in  the 
northern  and  north-eastern  states,  which  are  farthest 
removed  from  the  life  and  scene  of  slavery ;  and  they 
have  sought  to  have  such  a  rule  introduced  into  the 
"  discipline."  The  bishops,  as  before  observed,  had  sub- 
mitted the  recommendation  of  the  dissatisfied  party  to 
the  Annual  Conferences,  who  had  not  passed  it  by 
sufficient  majorities.  Yet,  the  parties  recommending  it 
resolved  to  press  their  proposal  on  the  General  Con- 
ference, that  it  might  go  from  thence  to  the  Annual 
Conferences  ag?in.  This  produced  strong  excitement, 
and  drew  forth  memorials  and  counter-memorials,  which 
the  committee  on  slavery  had  to  report  upon.  A  majo- 
rity of  the  committee  proposed  resolutions  for  the  Con- 
ference to  exclude  slaveholders  from  church-member- 
ship. To  this  a  minority  of  the  committee  objected, 
and  drawing  up  their  objections,  presented  them  to  the 
Conference  for  its  consideration. 

They  stated  decidedly,  and  as  a  fact  beyond  contra- 
diction, that  parlies,  not  a  few,  held  slaves  left  to  them 
with  the  benevolent  purpose  of  keeping  the  negroes 
from  cruel  usage  by  irreligious  owners ;  and  with  the 
direction  to  emancipate  these  bondsmen  as  soon  as 
practicable,  and  as  soon  as  they  could  be  provided  for. 


' 


THE   GENERAL   CONFERENCE  AT   INDIANAPOLIS.      219 


^P.' 


And  en  this  ground  (seeing  that  there  is  a  specific 
prohibition,  in  the  "  discipline,"  of  the  purchase  or  sale 
of  slaves,  by  Methodists)  the  minority  object  to  exclude 
all  slaveholders  from  church-membership.  They  also 
declare  that  such  a  rule  would  be  likely  to  break  up  the 
churches  on  the  southern  border,  and  on  slaveholding 
territory;  for,  while  there  are  few  slaveholders  who 
would  themselves  be  affected  by  it,  they  would  be  likely 
to  prohibit  the  attendance  on  religious  services  of  the 
slave  members,  who  are  numerous,  and  who  would  thus 
be  deprived,  in  their  bondage,  of  all  the  instructions  of 
religion.  And  further,  they  object  on  the  ground  that 
they  originally  separated  from  the  slaveholding  churches 
of  the  South  without  such  a  condition  of  membership ; 
and  that  now,  when  they  must  be  separated  from  both 
sections  if  such  a  rule  were  enacted,  it  is  not  kird  or 
just  to  impose  it.  They  state  that  the  "  discipline,"  as 
it  is,  has  worked  effeotually  to  the  discouragement  and 
extirpation  of  slavery;  that  with  it  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  is  known  to  be  an  Anti- Slavery 
Church ;  and  that  the  rule  proposed  would  retard,  in 
its  working,  the  object  professed  to  be  sought  by  all — 
the  extirpation  of  slavery.  On  these  grounds,  and 
with  the  evidently  strong  plea  that  it  is  at  present 
unconstitutional  to  include  such  a  rule  in  the  "disci- 
pline," since  it  has  not  passed,  as  required,  three-fourths 
of  the  Annual  Conferences,  the  minority  of  the  com- 
mittee reported  to  the  Conference  for  themselves,  and 
objected  to  the  report  and  recommendations  of  the 
majority.  In  stating  their  objections  to  the  new  pro- 
posal, the  minority  declared  themselves  earnestly 
opposed  ^0  slavery ;  and  challenged  any  one  to  prove 
that  there  was  a  pro-slavery  man  ci  the  floor  of  the 


1 


M 


mammi  ii  m»jmi»9m9m 


250      THE   GENERAL   CONFERENCE  AT   INDIANAPOLIS. 


Conference,  amidst  cries  from  every  side  of  "no,  no!" 
They  urged  too,  that  with  their  adherence  to  the  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church,  at  the  time  of  the  secession,  so 
that  they  might  not  partake  with  the  southern  churches 
in  the  iniquity  of  slavery,  it  was  unjust  to  harbour  the 
least  suspicion  of  their  honest  hostility  to  it.  In  proof 
of  the  well- working  of  the  "  discipline  "  as  it  is,  they 
further  stated  that  in  the  city-station  of  Baltimore,  the 
capital  of  the  slaveholding  State  of  Maryland,  where 
Methodism  is  so  influential  and  prosperous,  it  is  not 
known  that  there  is  a  single  slaveholder  in  the  church. 

But,  notwithstanding  all  these  objections  and  pleas, 
tlie  report  of  the  majority  of  the  committee  was  pre- 
sented, and  the  proposal  to  change  the  general  rule 
was  carried  by  122  votes  against  96.  This  was  a 
decisive  proof  of  the  views  held  by  the  ministers  at  this 
Conference ;  although,  as  there  were  not  two-thirds  of 
the  votes  in  its  favour,  and  as  it  has  not  yet  passed 
three-fourths  of  the  Annual  Conferences  (as  the  rules 
require  in  all  essential  changes),  the  new  rule  will  not, 
at  present,  be  entered  into  the  "  discipline."  That  you 
may  .know  exactly  what  the  report  and  recommendations 
of  the  majority  of  the  committee  on  slavery  are,  I 
subjoin  them  to  this  outline  of  the  proceedings.* 

There  was  another  test  of  anti-slavery  feeling,  by 
the  proposal  to  publish  and  circulate  largely  anti- 
slavery  tracts ;  which  proposal  was  carried  by  a  much 
larger  majority :  the  minority  stating  that  they  were 
in  favour  of  such  an  effort,  if  it  were  made  judiciously. 

I  have  described  this  subject  of  slavery  as  the  all- 
absorbing  one.  It  is  so,  not  only  within  the  Conference, 
but  out  of  it,  and  throughout  America.     Thoughtful 

*  See  Appendix. 


Mf! 


ft 


•vr) 


THE   GENERAL   CONFERENCE   AT   INDIANArOLIS.      251 

men,  everywhere,  perceive  that  this  is  the  great  problem 
to  be  solved  in  relation  to  their  country ;  and  Christian 
men  view  it  as  the  great  and  heaven-provoking  sin  of 
the  land.  A.  very  large  portion  of  our  time  in  America 
has  been  spent  in  conversing  upon  it.  All  who  have 
spoken  upon  it  in  our  hearing  have  deprecated  it  as  a 
fearful  evil.  None  have  attempted  to  justify  it  on 
moral  or  scriptural  grounds.  If,  as  in  some  instances, 
while  travelling,  we  spoke  with  persons  who  attempted 
to  defend  it,  they  did  so  on  the  ground  of  expediency — 
as  having  to  do  with  an  evil  which  existed,  and  must 
be  made  the  best  of.  But  it  is  due  to  our  Methodist 
brethren  to  state  that,  in  no  instance,  have  they  given 
any  other  character  to  slavery  than  that  of  sinfulness 
and  crime.  They  do,  however,  make  the  distinction 
between  the  holding  of  slaves  bequeathed,  and  which 
the  law  of  the  State  will  not  allow  to  be  emancipated, 
and  the  purchase,  use,  and  sale  of  slaves,  for  merely 
mercenary  purposes. 

Such  were  the  principal  subjects  of  business  in  this 
General  Conference  held  at  Indianapolis,  which  con- 
tinued from  May  1st  to  June  4th,  1856.  In  conclusion 
it  directed  that  its  next  quadrennial  session  (in  1860) 
should  be  held  in  the  City  of  Buflfalo. 


all- 


LETTER  XV. 


SLAVERY    IN    AMERICA. 


Motliflcd  Character  of  Slavery  in  Towns — Enormity  of  its  Evils  in  the 
South,  and  on  the  Pliintations — Its  Corrnptiiig  Influences  both  on  the 
Families  of  Slaveholders  and  on  the  Slaves — Sophism,  that  Slaves  are 
"  Happy  and  Contented,"  exposed,  and  also  the  assertion  that  their  Con- 
dition is  Analogous  to  that  of  the  English  Operative — Nationally  Disor- 
ganising tendencies  of  Slavery — Hopes  for  its  ExtermiDation  from  exist- 
ing Agencies ;  and  Confidence  that  it  will  be  brought  to  an  End,  founded 
on  the  Divine  Character. 


I  HAVE  repeatedly  alluded,  in  my  former  letters,  to  the 
subject  of  Slavery  in  America,  as  viewed  by  us  in  our 
passage  through  Slave  States  on  our  way  to  this  city ; 
as  it  has  been  regarded  by  the  Methodist  Church  from 
the  beginning,  and  in  its  progress ;  and  as  presented 
for  consideration  at  the  General  Conference.  But  it  is 
far  too  serious  a  subject  to  be  passed  over  with  inci- 
dental notices.  No  doubt,  slavery  will  be  found  vital, 
in  its  final  issues,  both  to  the  States  themselves  and.  to 
the  churches  within  them.  I  have  given  the  most 
wakeful  and  earnest  attention  to  this  subject  which 
circumstances  would  allow ;  have  not  only  had  frequent 
conversations  upon  it,  and  read  authentic  books  and 
documents  concerning  it,  but  have  made  careful  in- 
quiries of  persons  fully  acquainted  with  it ;  and  now, 
before  leaving  Indianapolis,  I  devote  a  letter  to  Slavery, 


■•■ 


SLAVERY   IN  AMERICA. 


253 


in  which  I  shall  give  reliable  information,  and,  what  I 
believe  I  may  term,  a  matured  judgment  concerning  it. 

I  have  described  what  we  noticed  of  slave-life  and 
occupation  in  our  journey  along  the  borders  of  Vir- 
ginia and  Maryland ;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that 
we  have  seen  it  only  in  its  domestic  character.  As  we 
passed  through  Maryland,  and  skirted  Virginia,  here 
and  there  we  saw,  as  previously  stated,  the  poor  dis- 
pirited Africans  toiling  wearily  in  the  field,  or  lazily 
at  the  edge  of  the  forest.  But  slave-life  even  at  the 
road-"ide,  as  well  as  in  cities  and  in  the  slave-owner's 
house,  is  different  to  slave-life  in  cotton-fields,  or  in 
sugar  and  tobacco  plantations,  where  hard  task- work 
has  to  be  performed  in  gangs,  and  under  the  lash  of 
slave-drivers.  This  seems  to  me  to  be  a  distinction 
very  necessary  to  be  made  when  considering  and  dis- 
cussing the  subject  of  American  slavery ;  for,  whenever 
I  have  conversed  with  an  advocate  or  apologist  for  it,  I 
have  invariably  found  that  he  spoke  of  it  under  its 
mildest  aspect,  as  the  "  domestic  institution."  Though 
by  far  the  greater  number  of  slaves  in  the  States  are 
not  to  be  found  lodged  and  boarded  in  their  masters' 
warm  houses,  and  employed  on  flower-gardens  as  ordi- 
nary servants ;  but  are  miserably  and  indecently  crowded 
together,  as  mere  cattle,  in  log-huts,  and  are  driven  forth 
to  daily  task- work  under  the  merciless  whip. 

Of  the  real  and  deeply  wretched  condition  of  the 
great  majority  of  slaves,  I  have  learned  much  from 
particular  inquiries  made  in  the  States,  from  publications 
issued  on  the  ground,  and  from  ministers  and  friends 
who  have  most  carefully  informed  themselves,  by  per- 
sonal investigations,  on  what  is  passing  in  the  South. 
And  after  due  inquiry  and  consideration,  I  have  come 


25^ 


SLAVERY   IN   AMERICA. 


to  the  painful  concl",  jvn  that  American  slavery,  iii  tlie 
Southern  States,  is  u^  wicked,  cruel,  and  oH'unsivo,  in  its 
character  and  opnrations,  us  it  has  been  reported  to  us 
in  England.  I  say  distinctly,  in  the  Southern  States; — 
for  it  luust  never  be  Ibrgotten  that  the  Northern  States 
have  resolutely  separated  themselves  from  this  evil. 
Half  the  states  of  the  Union  ha^  <^  done  this.  All  the 
^Methodist  churches  of  the  North,  in  those  States,  and 
some  within  the  borders  of  Sl.vvo  States  havo  done  it ; 
and  that  at  considerable  sacrifice,  as  before  related.  The 
churches  of  Baltimore,  named  in  a  former  letter,  havo 
done  this.  Therefore,  it  is  unjust,  inconsiderately  and 
cruelly  unjust,  to  class  all  the  States  and  Churches  to- 
gether, as  slave-holding,  or  alike  involved  in  the  guilt  of 
Slavery.  There  are  not  more  earnest,  zealous,  and  deter- 
mined opponents  of  Slavery  anywhere,  than  are  to  bo 
found  in  the  Northern  Slates  and  Churches  of  America  ; 
and  some  of  the  border-men  who  travelled  with  us  in 
our  lust  journey  were  determined  Abolitionists. 

But  in  the  South,  and  on  the  plantations,  the  evil  of 
Slavery  exists  in  its  grossest  and  most  revolting  forms. 
It  is  there  not  merely  tolerated  for  expediency;  but 
legalized,  maintained,  and  guarded,  as  if  it  were  the 
most  just  and  sacred  of  institutions.  By  some  violent 
upliolders  it  is  r  mked  with  religion  itself;  for  they 
inscribe  upon  their  placards  and  banners,  "  God  and 
Slavery!"  By  perversions  of  Holy  Scripture,  which 
nowhere,  if  properlj^  interpreted,  favours  Slavery,  and 
in  direct  contradiction  of  their  own  declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, upon  which  the  constitution  of  the  Union 
is  based,  and  which  positively  and  unequivocally  de- 
clares that  "  all  men  are  created  equal,  and  are  endowed 
with   the  inalienable  rights  of  life,  liberty,  and   the 


SLAVERY   IN   AMEUICA. 


255 


pursuit  of  happiness," — the  men  of  tlio  South  uphold 
and  promote  thia  atrocious  system  oguinst  the  remo:  • 
strunces  of  their  northern  brethren,  uud  against  the  t,  y 
of  the  civilized  world.  Even  in  Columbia,  the  small 
district  surrendered  by  Maryland  and  Virginia  to  tho 
sole  control  and  government  of  Congress,  Slavery  exists  ; 
and  in  Washington  itself,  tho  renowned  legislative 
capital  of  the  United  States,  there  are,  as  already  noted, 
slave-marts,  auction-blocks,  pr-'  •^Inve-prisons,  under 
the  control  and  use  of  license'''  *ilrt  ¥<;•  -ealers. 

Indeed,  in  some  of  its  ispecv  the  Slavery  of  tho 
Southern  States  of  America  is  not  only  one  of  the  most 
glarin.o-ly  iaconsistent  evils  in  existence ;  but  it  is,  in 
sorie  of  its  legalised  conditions  of  deprivation  and 
cruelty,  without  example  or  parallel  in  the  history  of 
the  world.  As  J^Ir.  Wesley  wrote  of  it  only  four  days 
before  his  death — it  is  "  the  vilest  evil  that  ever  saw 
the  sun."  In  a  country  which  has  voluntarily  asso- 
ciated itself  with  other  powers  to  repress  and  terminate 
the  African  slave-trade,  not  only  are  the  existing  slaves 
retained,  but  large  numbers  of  slaves  are  raised  and 
bred  for  the  market  yearly.  The  negro  mother  has 
no  claim  to  her  own  child.  By  law  it  belongs  to  her 
owner,  with  all  the  children  that  she  and  her  daugh- 
ters may  have  born  to  them,  for  ever.  This  is  the  ex- 
press law  of  the  Slave  States — that  the  child  shall 
follow  tho  condition  of  its  mother. 

Arid  this  unnatural  and  oppressive  law  leads  to  acts 
of  tho  most  revolting  cruelty  and  wickedness.  It  not 
only  encourages  the  most  brutish  profligacy  towards  the 
females  kept  on  the  slave-breeding  estates, — and  that 
as  soon  as  there  is  any  chance  of  slave-bearing, — but  it 
makes  fathers  the  salesmen  of  their  own  children ;  and 


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IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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Corporation 


23  WIST  MAIN  STMIT 

WIBSTIR.N.Y.  USSO 

(71«)«7a-4S03 


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Cx 


V  y 


256 


SLAVERY   IN   AMERICA. 


it  brings  upon  their  descendants,  however  white  and 
far  removed  from  the  original  negro,  through  suc- 
cessive generations,  the  most  painful  and  degrading 
circumstances.  A  considerable  proportion  of  the  co- 
loured slaves  are  the  fruit  of  intercourse  with  white 
owners,  owners'  sons,  and  slave-drivers.  So  that  some 
of  the  slaves  are  sold  by  their  own  fathers ;  and  if,  in 
rare  instances,  slaves  are  redeemed,  either  by  others  or 
themselves,  they  have  not  unfrequently  to  be  purchased 
from  their  own  fathers.  Yea,  fathers,  under  this  ini- 
quitous law,  prostitute  to  the  most  revolting  purposes 
their  own  children.  And  sometimes,  as  I  learn  from 
cases  related  to  me,  the  most  ruinous  and  degrading 
consequences  will  fall  upon  the  acknowledged  wives  and 
children  of  slaveholders  through  the  operation  of  this 
law.  Delay  in  the  act  of  emancipation  (where  it  is 
allowed)  towards  the  wife  selected  and  obtained  for  her 
beauty  and  whiteness,  may,  by  the  sudden  death  or 
bankruptcy  of  the  husband  and  futher,  be  followed 
by  the  sale  of  his  indulged  wife  and  accomplished 
daughters ;  and  these,  who  never  dreamed  of  their 
slavery,  must  then  be  exposed  in  the  public  auction 
mart,  and  sold  to  hard-hearted  and  licentious  slave- 
dealers — again,  severe  truth  compels  me  to  repeat — ^for 
the  most  degrading  purposes. 

The  cruelties,  too,  inflicted  by  law  upon  the  slaves 
are  enormous  and  horrible.  Not  only  are  they  deprived 
of  their  natural,  social,  and  civil  rights, — robbed  of 
self-ownership, — denied  marriage  contracts,  family  en- 
joyments, intellectual  culture,  and  complaint  or  redress 
in  a  court  of  justice  ;  but  they  are  unsparingly  separated 
from  husband,  wife,  child,  brother,  sister — if  they  may 
use  such  terms — sold  to  merciless  slave-dealers,  who 


SLAVERY   IN  AMERICA. 


257 


>i    i 


brand  them,  chain  them,  lodge  them  in  dungeons,  then 
drive  them  forth  in  gangs  barefooted  and  almost  naked, — 
men  and  women  together, — over  hard  rough  roads  and 
through  tangled  forests,  to  other  and  distant  States,  to 
be  sold  and  branded  again ;  and  then  to  be  driven  forth 
into  the  field  for  daily  labour  under  the  cow-hide  lash, 
and  to  be  exposed  to  the  gloating  licentiousness  of 
hired  slave-drivers.  I  could  give  abundant  proof  of  all 
this,  in  quotations  from  legal  documents,  advertised 
auction  sales,  and  published  descriptions  of  actual  occur- 
rences, which  none  can  dispute. 

I  do  not  suppose  that  all  slaveholders  maltreat  their 
slaves.  Some  of  them,  I  would  fain  believe,  for  the 
honour  of  humanity,  are  benevolent  men,  sorrowing 
over  their  heritages  of  human  beings,  of  which,  under 
the  laws  of  the  States  to  which  they  belong,  they  know 
not  how  to  rid  themselves.  And  such  are  kind  and 
merciful  to  their  slaves.  But  I  write  of  the  system,  of 
what  it  legalises  and  allows,  and  how  by  many  it  is 
used.  And,  in  cases  of  merciful  and  kind  treatment  by 
owners,  death  or  reverse  of  temporal  circumstances  may 
throw  the  best  of  slaves,  accustomed  to  mild  and  con- 
siderate conduct,  suddenly  into  the  most  painful  and 
deeply  degrading  circumstances.  The  Rev.  James  B. 
Finley,  in  his  "  Sketches  of  Western  Methodism," 
relates  a  case  which  occurred  in  Virginia,  and  most 
affectingly  proves  what  I  have  just  said ;  while,  at  the 
same  time,  it  exhibits  the  meek  and  forgiving  endurance 
of  wrongs  by  Christian  slaves,  and  the  abundant  mercy 
of  God  to  the  vilest  sinners  when  they  repent  and  turn 
to  Him. 

The  author  of  these  sketches  relates,  that  in  the  State 
of  Virginia  there  lived  a  wealthy  and  influential  planter, 
who  owned  a  large  number  of  slaves.     In  his  circum- 

8 


Ml 


'^^^-f  "•"'■"" -^- 


it 


258 


\  \ 


SLAVERY  IN  AMERICA. 


stances,  he  was  a  kind  and  indulgent  owner,  and  souglit 
for  them  tho  means  of  mental  and  moral  culture.  A 
methodist  minister  was  invited  by  him  to  preach  on  his 
plantation,  and  was  heard  by  himself,  his  family,  and 
his  slaves.  The  word  reached  their  hearts,  and  on  sub- 
sequent visits,  the  preacher  collected  into  a  church 
there,  the  master,  the  mistress,  and  many  of  the  negroes. 

One  of  these  negroes,  whose  name  was  Cuff,  became 
eminent  for  his  devotedness  to  Christ,  and  for  the 
exemplification  of  Christian  graces  among  his  brethren. 
Being  a  man  of  superior  intelligence,  he  was  selected  to 
conduct  religious  services  in  the  absence  of  the  minister ; 
and  in  these  he  was  wont  to  pour  forth  prayers  to  God 
from  a  full  heart,  and  to  speak  with  words  that  burned 
into  the  very  depths  of  the  souls  of  the  congregations. 
Both  white  and  black  hearers  trembled  and  wept  under 
the  power  with  which  he  prayed  and  spoke  before  them. 

But  amidst  the  fearful  contingencies  of  slavery,  even 
in  its  most  alleviated  circumstances,  Cuff,  through  the 
death  of  his  master  fell  into  the  possession  of  a  spend- 
thrift son,  who  had  soon  to  sell  him  by  public  auction  for 
the  benefit  of  clamorous  creditors  He  was  pui'chased 
by  an  infidel,  newly  settled  in  lil  id  whose  youthful 
wife  had,  before  her  marriage,  otton  heard  with  deep 
feeling  the  addresses  and  prayers  of  Cuif.  On  making 
the  purchase,  he  expret^dd  to  the  insolvent  owner  his 
pleasure  with  Cuff's  looks  and  manners,  and  inquired 
particularly  what  was  the  precise  character  to  be 
received  with  him.  The  answer  given  was,  that  there 
would  be  nothing  found  in  him  objectionable  to  the 
purchaser,  unless  it  was  that  he  would  pray  and  attend 
the  meeting.  "  If  that  be  all,"  said  the  infidel,  "  I  will 
soon  whip  that  out  of  him.'* 

He  took  home  his  purchased  slave,  who  with  a  heavy 


It 


SLAVERY  IN  AMERICA. 


269 


the 


heavy 


heart  left  his  old  homestead,  and  his  brethren  in  bond- 
age with  whom  he  had  so  happily  associated  for  worship. 
At  the  close  of  the  first  day's  appointed  labour,  he  went 
in  search  of  a  place  for  private  prayer,  which  he  found 
in  a  thicket  of  young  trees  near  to  his  master's  garden, 
and  whore  he  knelt  and  poured  forth  his  evening  cries 
to  heaven.  While  thus  engaged,  he  was  overheard  by 
his  youthful  mistress,  who  was  walking  in  the  garden  ; 
and  when  she  heard  him  pray  not  only  for  himself,  but 
also  for  his  new  "  massa"  and  his  new  **  misse,"  the  deep 
fountain  of  her  heart  was  broken  up,  and  she  wept  greatly. 

On  the  ensuing  Sabbath  Cuff  went  some  miles  to  the 
Methodist  meeting,  returning  in  the  evening,  that  he 
might  be  ready  in  time  the  next  morning  for  his  labour 
in  the  field.  On  Monday  morning  his  master  asked 
him  where  he  had  been  on  the  Sunday,  when,  not 
knowing  the  infidel  character  of  his  owner,  he  replied, 
"  I  have  been  to  meetin,  massa ;  and  bless  de  Lord  it 
was  a  good  time  ! " — "  Cutf,"  said  his  master,  with  an 
angry  voice,  "  you  must  quit  praying ;  I  will  have 
none  of  it  about  this  place." — "  Massa,"  said  Cuff,  "  I 
will  do  anything  you  tell  me  dat  I  can  do ;  but  1  must 
pray.  My  Massa  in  heaven  command  me  to  do  so." — 
"But  you  shall  quit  it,"  said  the  master,  "and  you 
shall  promise  now  to  do  so,  or  I  will  whip  you." — "  I 
cannot  do  one  nor  de  oder,  massa,"  said  the  slave. — 
"  Then  follow  me,  you  obstinate  negro,"  said  the  master, 
inflamed  with  passion,  "  and  we  will  see  whose  autho- 
rity is  to  be  obeyed." 

The  slave  was  led  forth,  stripped  of  the  few  tattered 
garments  that  covered  his  person,  was  tied  to  a  tree, 
when  the  infidel  master,  full  of  anger,  inflicted  twenty- 
five  heavy  strokes  of  the  cowhide  lash  upon  him  with  his 
own  hands.     "  Now,  Cuff,"  said  the  master,  "  will  you 


f 


260 


SLAVERY  IN   AMERICA. 


if 


quit  praying  ?" — **  No,  massa,"  said  the  bleeding  slave ; 
"  I  will  pray  to  Jesus  as  long  as  I  live."  He  gave  him 
twenty-five  lashes  more,  and  that  with  terrible  severity. 
"Now,"  said  the  monster  of  cruelty,  "you  will  quit 
praying,  wont  you?" — "No,  massa,"  was  the  meek 
slave's  reply;  "me  will  pray  while  me  live."  On 
hearing  this  the  master  flew  upon  his  victim  with  the 
utmost  fury,  and  ho  continued  to  ply  the  bloody  weapon 
upon  the  mangled  flesh  until,  from  sheer  exhaustion,  he 
could  strike  no  longer.  "  Now,  you  infernal  nigger, 
will  you  cease  praying?"  asked  the  master. — "No, 
massa,"  answered  the  bound  and  bleeding  slave ;  "  you 
may  kill  me,  but  I  must  pray." — "  Then  you  shall  bo 
whipped  as  much  as  this  every  time  you  pray  or  go  to 
the  meeting."  The  slave  was  unbound  from  the  tree ; 
he  gathered  up  his  clothes,  crawled  to  his  gloomy  hut, 
and  when  be  had  reached  it  he  was  heard  to  sing  within 
it  in  a  plaintive  voice, — 

"  My  suffering  time  will  soon  be  o'er, 
Then  shall  I  sigh  and  weep  no  more ; 
My  ransomed  soul  shall  soar  away 
To  sing  Gud's  praise  in  endless  day." 

"While  this  cruel  conduct  had  been  pursued  the  young 
mistress  had  been  looking  through  the  window  in  tears ; 
and  when  her  husband  returned  into  the  house  she 
said,  "  My  dear,  why  did  you  whip  that  poor  negro  so 
much  for  praying  ? — there  is  no  harm  in  that." —  ; 
"  Silence  ! "  said  the  enraged  husband ;  "  not  a  word 
upon  it,  or  I  will  give  you  aa  much."  Through  the 
remainder  of  the  clay  the  infidel  husband  raved  like  a 
madman ;  he  cursed  all  the  negro  race,  and  he  cursed 
God  for  creating  them.  Night  came ;  he  writhed  with 
agony  on  his  bed.  Before  the  morning  dawned  he  ex- 
claimed, "  I  feel  I  shall  be  damned !   O  God  have  mercy 


I 


M 


*       ■-■!,  ^ 


SLAVERY   IN   AMERICA. 


261 


Upon  me !  Is  there  any  one  to  pray  for  me  P  " — "  None," 
aaid  the  wife,  "unless  it  be  the  poor  negro  you  have 
whipped  so  severely." — "  lie  will  not  pray  for  me,"  said 
the  husband. — *'  He  will,  I  am  sure,"  said  the  wife. — 
"  Then  send  for  him  without  delay,  for  I  cannot  live  as 
I  am,"  said  the  husband.  Cuff  was  sent  for ;  he  came, 
sore  and  bleeding,  expecting  more  ill-usage,  when,  to 
his  great  astonishment,  he  found  his  cruel  master  bowed 
upon  the  floor  of  his  room,  and  crying  to  heaven  for 
mercy.  "Cuff,  will  you — can  you  pray  for  me?"  was 
the  earnest  inquiry  proposed  to  the  bowed  slave. — 
"  Yes,  massa,"  was  the  prompt  reply ;  "  I  have  been 
praying  for  you  and  misse  all  night."  They  prayed  and 
wept  together  until  the  heavy  burden  was  removed  from 
the  awakened  conscience,  when  the  rejoicing  master, 
springing  to  his  feet,  and  throwing  his  arms  around  his 
dark  slave,  exclaimed,  "Cuff,  my  forgiving  brother, 
from  this  moment  you  are  a  free  man  ! "  The  master 
formally  emancipated  his  injured  slave,  and,  with  his 
youthful  wife,  united  himself  to  the  Methodist  Church. 
Afterwards,  with  Cuff,  whom  he  engaged  as  chaplain 
for  his  estate,  he  preached  that  Jesus  whose  name  he 
had  blasphemed,  and  whose  disciple  he  had  scourged. 


A  few  persons  whom  I  have  met  while  in  America 
have  tried  to  persuade  me  that  the  slaves  are  happy  and 
contented  in  their  condition ;  and  have  significantly  re- 
marked that  they  are  more  so  than  many  of  our  English 
operatives  in  the  manufacturing  districts.  But  if  this 
assertion  be  true,  why  do  so  many  of  the  slaves  run 
away  ?  what  mean  the  numerous  public  advertisements 
in  the  newspapers  for  runaway  slaves,  describing  so  very 
particularly  their  stature,  weals,  maims,  and  branded 
marks  ?  what  mean  the  laws  against  education  of  slaves, 


*  » 


262 


SLAVERY   IN  AMERICA. 


P   i 


i 


coloured  assemblies,  and  harbouring  of  runaway  negroes? 
what  mean  the  pronged  collar,  the  chain,  the  stocks,  and 
the  notorious  "Fugitive  Law?"  and  what  mean  the 
slave-owners'  tormenting  fears  of  risings  and  insurrec- 
tions among  the  negroes  ? 

And  if  any  of  them  be  happy  and  contented  under 
this  heavy  pressure  of  degradation,  what  does  it  prove  ? 
Not  that  Slavery  is  just  and  good,  but  that,  in  this 
instance,  it  has  completed  its  destructive  work,  and 
crushed  down  human  nature  into  brutality.  The 
chained  dog  may  frisk  before  his  master,  and  not 
repine ;  and  when  the  spirit  of  manhood  has  been  struck 
down  and  extinguished  by  the  lash  and  brutal  insults, 
then,  and  not  till  then,  can  man  be  happy  and  content 
in  a  state  of  slavery.  To  be  deprived  of  all  rights  — to 
hold  no  place  in  civil  or  social  life — to  see  his  wife  and 
daughters  indecently  outraged,  and  reduced  to  unbridled 
prostitution — to  see  his  children  sold  away  from  him 
into  hopeless  bondage — to  lie  bleeding  and  writhing 
under  the  lash, — and  yet  be  "  happy  and  content ! "  Is 
not  such  talk  madness  ? 

And  what  parallel  can  justly  be  instituted  between 
the  slaves  in  the  Southern  States  of  America  and  Eng- 
lish operatives  ?  Are  the  operatives  of  England  raised 
and  bred  for  sale  in  the  public  market  ?  Are  they  de- 
prived  of  all  ownership  in  themselves,  and  sold  body  and 
soul,  flesh  and  spirit,  as  mere  goods  and  chattels,  to  the ' 
proprietorship  of  others  ?  Are  they  deprived  of  home 
and  family,  and  of  civil  protection  ?  Are  they  exposed 
to  the  whip  ?  Are  their  wives  and  daughters  exposed 
to  the  unbridled  licentiousness  of  masters  and  masters' 
sons  ?  Are  English  operatives  liable  to  be  marched  off 
in  chain-gangs  to  other  counties  than  those  in  which 
they  live?     Cannot  they  change  their  employers  for 


fc.: 


Is 


n 


i 


SLAVERY   IN   AMERICA, 


263 


better  wages  when  these  are  offered  ?  Does  not  the  law 
of  England  protect  them  as  safely,  with  their  families, 
in  their  homes,  from  insult  and  injury  as  it  does  the 
titled  dweller  in  a  castle  or  mansion  ?  Where,  then,  is 
the  likeness  between  the  case  of  the  American  slave  and 
the  condition  of  the  English  operative  ?  There  is  none ; 
and  no  attempt  to  prove  that  there  is  will  ever  be  made, 
except  in  sheer  ignorance,  or  from  the  spirit  of  wilful 
misrepresentation . 

The  effects  of  this  unnatural  and  cruel  system  are  as 
great  as  we,  in  England,  so  often  heard  that  they  were. 
It  is  enormously  destructive  of  slave  life,  as  well-authen- 
ticated statistics  show.  It  corrupts  the  moral  and 
spiritual  life  and  nature  of  the  slaves,  while  it  destroys 
their  physical  life  ;  for  the  oppressed  negro  hears  vice 
termed  virtue,  and  virtue  termed  vice  ;  sees  their  proper 
rewards  and  penalties  reversed ;  and  becomes  often  help- 
lessly blinded  in  his  distinction  of  right  and  wrong. 
It  degrades  all  residents  in  the  States  who  belong 
to  the  negro  race,  or  who  are  the  least  tinged  with 
African  blood.  It  deprives  them  of  position  and  status 
in  society,  even  though  free,  and  living  in  Free 
States,  by  creating  prejudice  against  them,  which  will 
not  allow  them  to  sit  and  eat,  or  tc  :'Ae  in  a  railway- 
car,  in  the  company  of  the  whites,  lo  not  only  drives 
them  into  the  North,  where  the  colder  climate  is  uncon- 
genial to  the  African  constitution,  but  it  pursues  them 
with  menacing  laws  and  restrictions,  that  not  only 
prevent  their  citizenship,  but  security.  In  some  of  the 
Free  States  there  are  what  are  called  "  Black  Laws," 
which  prohibit  their  residence  altogether ;  and  in  some 
of  the  Slave  States  free  negroes  remaining  so  many 
days  within  them  are  to  be  seized,  and  sold  into  slavery 
for  ever ;  indeed,  in  not  a  few  instances,  it  seizes  the 


^.EnW» 

264 

'4  i 

SLAVERY   IN   AMERICA.                                                         \ 

u 


free  negro  under  pretence  of  suspicion  that  lio  is  n  run- 
away, and  if  he  happens  not  to  have  his  manumission 
papers  upon  him,  locks  him  up  in  prison,  advertises  him 
as  to  be  sold  for  his  expenses  at  such  a  time,  and  thus 
kidnaps  and  enslaves  him  who  had  previously  purchased 
his  freedom,  or  was  born  free.  It  is  aflirmed  that  not 
less  than  thirty  free  negroes  were  thus  kidnapped  in 
the  free  city  of  l*hiladelphia  within  the  years  1820  and 
1826,  and  were  sold  into  slavery. 

This  evil  system  also  demoralises  slaveholders  and 
their  families — sensualising  husbands   and   sons,   and 
rendering  hard-hearted   and   cruel   even   females   and 
little  children.    A  white  mother  will  have  her  offending 
negro  slave  laid  down  and  whipped  before  her  eyes ; 
and  even  the  young  child  in  the  arms  of  the  nurse  is 
promised,  as  a  toy  from  the  market  or  the  fair,  a  whip, 
with  which  to  flog  the  young  negro.   It  corrupts  the  very 
seat  of  legislative  government ;  renders  its  laws  a  dead 
letter ;  and  seeks  to  make  a  State  that  would  be  free — like 
Kansas — a  Slave  State  against  its  will.    It  impoverishes 
the  country,  so  that  the  localities  where  it  exists  are  a 
full  century  behind  the  other  parts  of  the  Union  in  the 
increase  of  the  free  population  and  in  scientific  improve- 
ment.   It  induces  slovenly  culture  of  the  soil  by  negroes, 
who  will  not  do  anything  more  than  they  are  forced  to 
perform.     It  produces  idleness,  wastefulness,  and  reck- 
lessness of  life  both  among  the  slaveholders  and  their 
slaves.    It  foments  disputes,  insolence,  duels,  and  blood- 
shed between  th(   men  of  the  Free  States  and  those  of 
the  Slave  States  ;  strikes  down  a  senator  in  the  Hall  of 
Congress  (as  in  the  case  of  Sumner)   for  his  speech 
against  it;  and  executes  "Lynch  Law'*  upon  Aboli- 
tionists, or  even  suspected  Abolitionists. 

Moreover,  this  vile  system  disorganises  the  States, 


SLAVERY   IN   AMEKICA. 


265 


and,  in  the  event  of  an  invasive  war,  would  render 
them  a  more  easy  conquest.  It  provides  increasing 
internal  enemies  in  the  slaves,  who  are  multiplying  so 
quickly,  and  are  now  proportionately  so  numerous, 
that  in  a  century  more,  at  the  same  rate  of  increase, 
they  will  out-number  all  the  white  people  in  the 
States  put  together.  With  such  an  army  of  revenge- 
ful negroes  within  her  own  borders,  how  appalling 
would  the  consequences  be  in  bloodshed,  if  any  Euro- 
pean power  were  to  land  on  the  southern  shores,  and 
give  arms  to  the  slaves !  Indeed,  it  fills  this  continent 
with  suspicion  and  terror,  so  that  zealous  Abolitionists 
and  thoughtful  men  of  the  Free  States  devise  colonisa- 
tion plans  which  shall  remove  the  increasing  and  dan- 
gerous Africans  away  from  America  to  their  own 
country.  It  is,  in  Mr.  Wesley's  words,  "  an  execrable 
sum  of  all  villanies;"  it  is  a  complicated  evil  of  injus- 
tice, cruelty,  licentiousness,  and  murder,  which,  unless 
it  be  abandoned,  will  assuredly  avenge  itself  upon  its 
own  supporters,  and  will  bring  down  upon  them  de- 
struction and  shame  before  the  gazing  world.  There 
is  a  God  who  judgeth  in  the  earth ;  and  He  who 
avenged  Joseph's  bondage  in  Egypt  upon  them  who  sold 
him  for  twenty  pieces  of  silver,  so  that  they  acknow- 
ledged in  the  dungeon  the  connection  of  their  sin  and 
its  punishment,  and  said,  "  We  are  verily  guilty  con- 
cerning our  brother,  in  that  we  saw  the  anguish  of  his 
soul,  when  he  besought  us,  and  we  would  not  hear ;  there- 
fore is  this  distress  come  upon  us."  He  who  heard  the  cry 
of  His  people  under  their  hard  taskmasters,  when  wasted 
by  the  heat  of  the  furnace,  and  avenged  their  wrongs 
upon  Pharaoh  and  his  host  in  the  lied  Sea—  He  who 
has  already  avenged  Slavery  upon  Spain  and  Portugal, 
by  which  powers  the  slave-trade  on  the  American  con- 


266 


SLAVERY  IN  AMERICA. 


tinent  was  commenced  in  1603, — will  arise  out  of  His 
rest,  and  baring  the  rod  arm  of  His  vengeance,  will 
judge  the  oppressor,  ond  overthrow  his  power.  As 
one  has  justly  remarked,  "  no  attribute  of  God  is  on  the 
side  of  slaveholders;"  and  this  is  a  most  fearful  con- 
sideration, which  ought  to  make  them  tremble,  and 
abandon  their  foul  iniquity  without  delay. 


But  you  naturally  inquire  if  there  be  no  hope  and 
prospect  of  the  removal  from  the  States  of  this  mon- 
strous and  destructive  evil.     I  believe  there  is.     I  be- 
lieve this,  because  Right  is  stronger  than  Might  in  the 
long  run ;   I  believe  this  from  the  signs  and  circum- 
stances  favourable   to   emancipation  which  now  most 
unmistakeably  begin  to  appear.   Slavery  recedes  forther 
and  farther  South,  and,  if  it  continues  to  retire,  it  must 
eventually  pass  from  the  land,  and  leave  America  free 
from  it.     The  anti-slavery  principles  are  now  widely 
diffused,  not  only  in  the  Free  Slates,  but  in  the  Slave 
States  ;  so  that  many  slaveholders  really  desire  general 
emancipation,  and  though  not  able  to  act  openly,  yet 
they  covertly  send  both  money  and  information  to  the 
Abolitionists,  and  declare  they  wish  success  to  the  cause 
of  emancipation.    Every  true-hearted  woman  who  cares 
for  the  purity  of  her  husband  and  her  sons  must  abhor 
Slavery,  and  inwardly  desire  its  removal.     Christianity, 
as  well  as  the  law  of  Moses,  condemns  Slavery  both  by 
its  spirit  and  direct  precepts,  and  must,  by  its  pervading 
power  and  influence,  remove  Slavery  from  this  country 
as  it  has  banished  Slavery  from  Christian  Europe.    The 
churches  are  astir  for  its  removal,  and  have  already 
effected  much  that  is  important  as  a  preparation.     The 
American  churches  are  not  "  the  Bulwark  of  Slavery,"  as 
they  have  been  tauntingly  declared  to  be.     How  can 


as 
can 


SLAVERY  IN  AMERirA. 


267 


they  bo  so,  unless  Christ's  own  kingdom  bo  divided 
against  itself?  I  will  not  say  they  have  at  all  times 
proved  themselves  as  firm  to  endure  sufferings  for  the 
cause  of  freedom  as  they  ought  to  have  done — for  even 
martyrdom  in  such  a  cause  would  have  been  honourable. 
Undoubtedly  a  time-serving  expediency  has,  in  some 
instances,  swayed  thom  in  tlioir  decisions  and  in  their 
conduct.  ]Jut  with  this  admission,  it  may  be  confi- 
dently affirmed,  that  the  (Quakers,  the  Baptists,  the 
PrenViyterians,  and  the  Episcopalian  Churches,  have,  in 
various  ways,  and  to  no  inconsiderable  extent,  rebuked 
and  withstood  the  evil. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  has  from  the  begin- 
ning condemned  and  contended  against  Slavery.  Mr. 
Wesley  did,  as  his  letters  to  America  show.  Pr.  Coke, 
and  Francis  Asbury,  and  others  of  that  period  also 
earnestly  testified  against  it.  The  early  minutes  ex- 
pressly forbid  any  member  of  the  Methodist  Church 
"  buying  and  selling  of  men,  women,  and  children  with 
an  intention  to  enslave  them."  The  later  minutes, 
before  noted,  declare,  "  we  are  as  much  as  ever  con- 
vinced of  the  great  evil  of  Slavery ; "  and  expressly 
provide  that  "no  slaveholder  shall  hold  any  office  in 
the  Methodist  Church  where  the  law  of  the  States  will 
allow  of  emancipation."  And  for  this  principle  the 
Northern  churches,  as  I  have  repeatedly  intimated, 
became  separated  from  the  Southern,  and  endured  the 
great  secession  of  1844. 

The  religious  interests  of  the  enslaved  and  coloured 
population  have,  from  the  very  foundation  and  first 
organisation  of  Methodism  in  America,  been  cared  for 
and  sought.  In  the  first  published  minutes  I  find  that, 
at  that  period,  one  fourth  of  the  members  returned  were 
of  coloured  people.     In  the  year  of  Mr.  Wesley's  death 


268 


SLAVERY   IN  AMERICA. 


there  were  12,000  coloured  Methodist  members  in  the 
States.  At  the  time  of  the  separation  of  the  Northern 
and  Southern  churches,  in  184 4-,  there  were  more  than 
150  000  coloured  members,  and  there  are  more  than 
200,000  now  in  both  sections.  The  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  South,  while  in  error  on  the  public 
question  of  Slavery,  is  nevertheless  labouring  most 
strenuously  and  successfully  for  the  moral  and  religious 
instruction  of  the  slaves ;  and  is,  undoubtedly,  doing 
more  for  them,  morally  and  religiously,  than  any  other 
agency  whatever.  In  addition  to  its  regular  ministry 
and  numerous  schools,  for  both  th*  „  iiite  and  coloured 
people,  it  has  not  less  than  145  missionaries  who  are 
exclusively  devoted  to  their  interests,  and  who,  amidst 
the  destructive  malaria  of  river  swamps,  and  the  con- 
suming heat  of  rice  and  cotton-fields,  are  seeking  the 
spiritual  welfare  of  the  negroes  in  bondage,  and  of  their 
children.  Both  in  the  North  and  in  tlie  South,  there 
are  African  churches,  African  schools,  African  preachers 
and  class -leaders,  African  deacons  and  missionaries;  and 
thus  American  Methodism,  in  its  two  sections,  is  diffusing 
Christian  principles  among  the  white  and  the  coloured 
population — among  the  masters  and  their  slaves,  and, 
with  the  labours  of  the  other  churches  of  Christ  in  the 
States,  must  not  only  mitigate  the  evils  of  Slavery 
while  it  exists,  but,  if  the  Church  be  faithful  to  truth, 
most  assuredly  will  eventually  exterminate  it. 

What  believer  in  Christ  can  doubt  this  when  he 
remembers  that  there  are  the  accumulated  prayers  and 
supplications  to  be  answered  of  God's  servants  through 
successive  years  and  generations  for  this  great  and 
glorious  object  ?  How  many  a  fervent  and  acceptable 
prayer  has  ascended  into  the  ear  of  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth 
from    poor,    overwrought,   whipped,    and    imprisoned 


in  the 
rtliern 
E  than 
13  than 
,  Epis- 
public 
r  most 
iligious 

doing 
y  other 
linistry 
oloured 
rho  are 

amidst 
he  con- 
ing the 
of  their 
ti,  there 
eachers 
es;  and 
iflfusing 

oloured 
es,  and, 
t  in  the 
Slavery 
truth, 

hen  he 
-^ers  and 
through 
•at  and 
eptable 
Sabaoth 
Drisoned 


il 


SLAVERY   IN   AMERICA. 


269 


negroes  ?  How  many,  like  "  Uncle  Tom "  in  Mrs. 
Stowe's  story  (so  full  of  real  genius  as  well  as  philan- 
thropy), have  cried  to  God  in  their  bondage  and  meek 
suffering  ?  How  many  have  called  upon  Him  from  the 
cabin  and  the  bush,  from  the  prayer-meeting  and  the 
sanctuary?  How  many  white  ministers  and  their 
people  have  prayed  that  the  oppressed  may  go  free ! 
And  shall  not  these  prayers  be  remembered  by  the 
Eternal?  Are  they  lost  or  forgotten  by  him?  Like 
the  prayers  and  alms  of  Cornelius,  they  are  gone  up  for 
a  memorial  before  God,  and  shall  yet  be  answered. 
Some  of  these  prayers  are  on  record,  and  may  be  read 
and  repeated  until  the  desires  expressed  in  them  shall  be 
fulfilled.  The  loUowing  is  Mr.  Wesley's  own  prayer, 
recorded  at  the  conclusion  of  his  "  Thoughts  on 
Slavery,"  in  1774  :— 

"  0  thou  God  of  love,  thou  who  art  loving  to  every 
man,  and  whose  mercy  is  over  all  thy  works — thou  who 
art  the  father  of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh,  and  who  art  rich 
in  mercy  unto  all — thou  who  hast  mingled  of  one  blood 
all  the  nations  upon  earth, — have  compassion  upon  out- 
casts of  men,  who  are  trodden  down  as  dung  upon  the 
earth.  Arise,  and  help  these  that  have  no  helper, 
whose  blood  is  spilt  upon  the  ground  like  water !  Are 
not  these  also  the  work  of  thine  own  hands,  the  purchase 
of  thy  Son's  blood  ?  Stir  them  up  to  cry  unto  thee  in 
the  land  of  their  captivity,  and  let  their  complaint  come 
up  before  thee ;  let  it  enter  into  thy  ears !  make  even  those 
who  lead  them  away  captive  to  pity  them,  and  turn  their 
captivity  as  the  rivers  in  the  south.  0  burst  thou  all 
their  chains  asunder,  more  especially  the  chains  of  their 
sins !  Thou  Saviour  of  all,  make  them  free,  that  they 
may  be  free  indeed. 


270 


SLAVERY   IN  AMERICA. 


' 


i 


. 


tl 


:  ; 


4 


1  h 


'  The  servile  progeny  of  Ham 

Seize  as  the  purchase  of  thy  blood. 
Let  all  the  heathens  know  thy  name : 

From  idols  to  the  living  God 
The  dark  Americans  convert, 
And  shine  in  every  pagan  heart.' " 

This  prayer  shall  be  answered  :  yea,  and  I  cannot  but 
think  that,  out  of  the  numerous  and  eflficient  churches 
of  the  coloured  race  in  this  "Western  continent,  shall  go 
forth   ministers   and  missionaries  to  their  own  people 
across  the  seas,  and  bring  thousands  of  Africa's  sons  and 
daughters  on  their  own  native  soil,  into  the  spiritual 
kingdom  of  the  Redeemer.    Some  of  the  negro  members 
of  the  Baptist,  Presbyterian,  and  Protestant,  as  well  as 
of  the  Methodist  churches  in  this  land,  are  being  edu- 
cated and   prepared   for  important  Christian  services. 
Some  of  the  negro  local  preachers  are  intelligent  and 
zealous  labourers  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord ;   and 
suited  as  they  are  in  constitution,  sympathies,  character, 
and  modes  of  thought,  to  this  missionary  work  to  the 
African  heathen,  I  cannot  but  think  that  they  will  be 
called   and   sent   forth  to  engage   in   it.     Then   shall 
Africa's  real  compensation  for  Slavery  appear.     Not  in 
pounds  or  dollars — for  what  compensation  can  money 
afford  for  the  heavy  and  accumulated  wrongs  inflicted 
upon  80  many  millions  of  her  sons  and  daughters  for  so 
many   generations  ? — but   in   the  spread  of  Messiah's 
kingdom  over  the  African  continent ;  in  the  reception, 
by  its  millions  yet  to  b«^  born,  of  the  Gospel — the  good 
news  of  Christ's  salvation,  which  "  healeth  the  broken 
in  heart,  and  bindeth  up  their  wounds ; "  in  the  real  and 
everlasting  enfranchisement  of  the  children  of  Ham — 
for,  when  "  the  Son  shall  make  them  free,  they  shall  be 
free  indeed." 


LETTER  XVI. 


THE  NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


Peculiar  Look  of  the  Race — Mongolian  Descent — Noble  Original  Qualities 
— Hospitality  and  Bravery — Degratlod  State  of  Woman — Rapidly  de- 
creasing number  of  Red  Men — Christian  Labourers  among  them — John 
Stewart,  the  Nogio — Father  Finley— Indian  Converts  and  Preachers — 
Remarkable  Occurrence  among  the  "  Flat  Head  "  Indians — Banishment 
of  the  Red  Race  to  the  Far  West — Melancholy  Prospect  of  their 
Extinction. 


There  is  a  melancholy  interest  attached  to  the  aboriginal 
inhabitants  of  this  country,  as  an  ill-fated  and  declining 
race ;  and  a  thoughtful  visitor  can  scarcely  fail  to  feel  a 
craving  for  reliable  information  concerning  them.  As 
for  what  the  race  was  in  the  past,  there  are  no  crumbling 
monuments  of  antiquity,  no  fallen  arches  or  broken 
columns  to  attest  it,  or  to  furnish  hints  for  the  spirit  of 
theory :  one  sole  monument  remains — the  living  ruin  of 
a  perishing  nation.  I  have  made  diligent  inquiries 
concerning  the  Indians  of  missionaries  who  have  been 
much  among  them,  and  have  studied  their  character  and 
closely  observed  their  manners  and  customs,  being, 
meanwhile,  devoted  to  their  interests  both  for  this  world 
and  the  world  to  come.  Thus,  though  I  may  not  have 
much  to  communicate  that  will  be  new,  yet  my  state- 
ments respecting  them,  and  more  especially  of  the  work 
of  God  among  their  wasting  tribes,  will  be  authentic. 


\.ir 


i 


272 


\  \ 


THE   NORTH   AMERICAN    INDIANS. 


Each  specimen  of  the  aboriginal  race  that  I  have  seen 
in  America  resembles  the  Indian  missionary  visitors  we 
have  seen  in  England.  There  is  the  same  sombre  coun- 
tenance, the  same  inwardly  brooding  look,  that  seems  to 
tell  of  the  sense  of  past  and  present  wrong,  and  of  a 
proud  grief  deeply  seated,  and  so  absorbing  as  to  render 
the  subject  of  it  almost  insensible  of  what  is  passing 
externally.  Some  observers  attribute  the  red-man's 
peculiar  look  to  the  hardness  and  inflexibility  of  his 
features  from  long  training,  rather  than  to  his  sense  of 
injuries  received  from  the  white  obtruders  upon  his 
rightful  domain ;  and,  perhaps,  it  may  be  attributable 
to  both  these  causes.  His  skin  is  not  sufficiently  trans- 
parent to  allow  the  flush  of  feeling  to  mantle  in  his  face, 
or  to  deepen  his  colour,  and  he  would  seem  to  have  been 
trained  to  conceal  rather  than  exhibit  the  working  of 
his  passions.  Yet,  with  his  stolid  and  immovable 
features,  there  are  deeply  indented  lines  which  tell  of 
inward  contest ;  that  brooding,  melancholy  eye  is  often 
kindled  into  defiant  fierceness,  and  there  is  a  proud 
bearing  in  the  red-man's  upright  form  which  seems  to 
proclaim  that  he  is  conscious  of  descent  from  a  free  and 
noble  ancestry. 

The  theory  that  the  North  American  Indians  are  the 
descendants  of  the  lost  tribes  of  Israel  finds  no  credit 
with  the  missionaries  who  have  been  among  them,  and 
become  best  acquainted  with  their  language  and  cus- 
toms. There  are  some  Indian  words  which  have  some 
resemblance  to  their  synonyms  in  Hebrew,  and  a  few 
Indian  rites  resemble  the  Jewish.  But  these  scattered 
resemblances,  it  is  well  known,  are  found  among  many 
tribes  where  they  would  not  bo  expected — such  as  the 
Tartars,  for   instance.     The  most   supportable   theory, 


THE  NORTH  AMERICAN   INDIANS. 


273 


undoubtedly,  is  that  the  Indians  are  of  Mongolian 
origin,  and  came  from  Asia  across  the  narrow  sea  which 
we  now  call  "  Behring's  Strait." 

Come,  however,  from  wherever  they  might,  at  the 
beginning,  there  seems  to  be  no  doubt  of  the  common 
origin  of  all  the  remnant  tribes  of  the  North  American 
Indians.  Some  differences  exist  in  their  language  and 
in  their  customs,  but  none  of  these  are  so  essential  as  to 
lead  to  the  inference  that  all  the  red-men  are  not 
derived  from  one  stock.  "When  first  visited  by  Eu- 
ropeans, they  were  scattered  in  various,  and,  for  the 
most  part,  mutually  hostile,  tribes  over  the  continent, 
and  numbered,  it  is  supposed,  fifteen  or  sixteen  mil- 
lions. They  were  not  when  first  discovered  "  barba- 
rous savages,"  in  the  literal  sense  of  the  phrase,  but 
rather  wild,  roving  men  with  an  indomitable  love  of 
liberty  ;  and  however  fierce  and  revengeful  towards 
each  other  hostile  tribes  might  be,  all  were  kind  and 
friendly  towards  the  white  man  when  he  first  ap- 
proached them.  Afterwards,  when  they  felt  themselves 
wronged  and  injured,  defrauded  out  of  their  beloved 
hunting-grounds,  and  left  with  mere  trinkets  instead, 
they  became  exasperated  and  revengeful.  When  driven 
cruelly  away  from  their  own  lands,  and  from  the 
graves  of  their  fathers,  they  turned  upon  their  murder- 
ous pursuers,  and  fought  for  their  liberty  and  lives  like 
stags  at  bay.  And  when  unable  to  compete  with  their 
enemy  and  with  his  fire- weapons  in  the  open  field,  they 
crouched  in  the  thicket,  and  shot  him  with  the  poisoned 
arrow  as  he  passed  along  upon  the  "  Indian  track." 

It  was  not  till  goaded  and  driven  to  violence  and 
bloodshed,  by  injury  and  bloodshed,  that  the  red-man 
showed  himself  to  be  fierce  and  revengeful.     Columbus 

T 


:    ; 


I: 


'     I 


u  , 


li  i   i 


274 


THE  NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


wrote  home  to  his  royal  patrons  concerning  one  of 
these  aboriginal  races : — "  I  swear  to  your  majesties 
that  there  is  not  a  better  people  in  the  world  then 
these, — more  affectionate,  affable,  and  mild.  They  love 
their  neighbours  as  themselves,  and  they  always  speak 
smilingly/'  And  their  first  admission  of  white  men  to 
their  country  seems  to  have  been  from  motives  of  com- 
passion and  hospitality,  as  the  mournful  chief  declared 
to  General  Knox,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  when  inter- 
rogated on  the  reason  for  his  dejected  and  sorrowful 
countenance  amidst  such  gay  and  stirring  scenes.  "  I 
will  tell  you,  brother,"  said  the  chief  to  the  general, 
"  what  makes  me  look  sorrowful.  I  have  been  looking 
at  your  beautiful  city — your  great  waters  full  of  ships 
— your  fine  country,  and  I  see  how  prosperous  you  all 
are.  But  then  I  could  not  help  thinking  that  this  fine 
country  was  once  ours.  Our  ancestors  lived  here. 
They  enjoyed  it  as  their  own  in  peace.  It  was  the  gift 
of  the  Great  Spirit  to  them  and  to  their  children.  At 
last  white  men  came  in  a  great  canoe,  they  only  asked 
to  let  them  tie  it  to  a  tree,  lest  the  water  should  carry 
it  away.  We  consented.  They  then  said,  some  of  their 
people  were  sick,  and  they  asked  permission  to  land 
them,  and  put  them  under  the  shade  of  the  trees.  The 
ice  'Dame,  and  they  could  not  go  away.  They  then 
begged  a  piece  of  land  to  build  wigwams  for  the  win- 
ter. We  granted  it  to  them.  They  then  asked  com 
to  keep  them  from  starving.  We  furnished  it  out  of 
our  scanty  supply.  They  promised  to  go  away  when 
the  ice  melted.  When  this  happened,  instead  of  going 
away  as  they  had  promised,  they  pointed  to  the  big 
guns  round  the  wigwams,  and  they  said,  *  We  shall 
stay  here.*      Afterwards  came  more.     They  brought 


THE  NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


275 


intoxicating  drinks,  of  which  the  Indians  became  fond. 
They  persuaded  them  to  sell  this  our  land  ;  and,  finally, 
have  driven  us  back,  from  time  to  time,  to  the  wilder- 
ness, far  from  the  water,  the  fish,  and  the  oysters.  They 
have  scared  away  our  game.  My  people  are  wasting 
away.  We  live  in  want  of  all  things,  while  you  are 
enjoying  abundance  in  our  fine  and  beautiful  country. 
This  makes  me  sorry,  brother,  and  I  cannot  help  it." 

The  North  American  Indian,   like   the  nomade  of 
Asia,  is   proverbially  generous  and  hospitable.     Like 
the  Arab,  he  spreads  his  tent  in  the  wilderness,  and 
refuses  to  dwell  in  a  walled-up  immovable   dwelling; 
but  a  travelling  stranger  may  enter  his  tent  and  lodge 
there  for  the  night  as  freely  as  the  passing  bird  can 
enter  and  shelter  itself  in  the  open  bush.     He  gives 
readily  to  the  unknown  visitor  the  pipe  of  peace,  and 
shares  his  best  provisions  with  his  guest.     He  spurns 
subjection  to  any  but  his  uncrowned  patriarchal  chief, 
loves  the  chase,  is  fondly  attached  to  his  horse  and 
his  dogs;  and  bounds  with  the  fleetness  of  the  wind 
over  the  waving  prairie-ground  and  through  the  forest 
after  the  buffalo,  the  bear,  the  panther,  and  the  deer. 
He  is  orderly  and  eloquent  in  council,  respectful  of  the 
rights  of  messengers  and  mediators  from  hostile  tribes, 
and,  with  a  voice  "  sharp  as  the  eagle's  and  powerful  as 
the  lion's,"  will,  after  the  message  has  been  delivered, 
reply  to  what  has  been  spoken.     He  is  scrupulously 
attentive  to  the  forms  and  customs  of  his  false  religion, 
and  by  bodily  mortifications,  prayers,   and  sacrifices, 
gives  such  a  proof  of  his  sincerity  as  ought  to  put  to 
shame  many  a  professing  Christian. 

As  it  is  with  all  heathen  nations,  woman  is  degraded 
among  the  red  people  ; — instead  of  beiog  man's  caressed 


<  \ 


276 


TUB   NORTH   AMERICAN   INDIANS. 


companion  and  friend,  she  is  his  drudge  and  slave. 
She  is  wooed  by  scalps,  purchased  by  cattle,  and  taken 
to  perform  degrading  service  in  the  smoky  wigwam 
and  in  the  open  field.  But  notwithstanding  this, 
there  are  frequently  touching  displays  of  connubial 
and  parental  affection  among  these  unpolished  tribes. 
The  Indian  husband,  with  no  bond  but  love,  is  not 
unfrequently  faithful  to  his  purchased  and  laborious 
wife.  No  Indian  mother,  however  high  in  rank,  gives 
up  her  infant  to  be  nurtured  by  another.  She  weaves 
for  it  a  richly-embroidered  cradle,  bears  it  in  its 
infancy  therein  upon  her  back  as  she  goes  forth  to 
labour  in  the  field,  hangs  it  near  to  her  upon  the 
spreading  branch  of  a  tree,  that  it  may  be  rocked  to 
sleep  as  the  cradle  swings  to  and  fro  with  the  breeze ; 
and  if  it  dies,  she  bears  its  empty  cradle  with  her, 
wherever  she  goes,  for  months  afterwards,  that  she  may 
think  lovingly  of  her  lost  offspring.  Parents  and  chil- 
dren hold  the  graves  of  their  lost  relatives  as  their  most 
sacred  possessions,  and  often  visit  their  burial-places 
from  cherished  reverence  and  love. 

All  who  know  the  red-men  declare  them  to  be  re- 
markable for  bravery.  No  coward  is  cherished  among 
them.  They  record  not  their  deeds  in  books,  but  they 
picture  their  wounds  in  red  stripes  upon  their  flesh ; 
and  embroider  their  conquests  over  men,  beasts,  and 
birds,  by  suspending  scalps,  hair  tufts,  and  eagles' 
claws  to  their  robes.  If  threatened  by  invading  foes, 
they  prepare  themselves  for  the  conflict;  make  the 
forest  and  the  surrounding  plains  echo  with  their  war- 
cry  of  defiance ;  and  if  taken  prisoners  in  battle,  they 
submit  to  insult  and  extreme  tortures  without  com- 
plaint, sing  their  own  death-song  before  their  enemies, 


THE   NOllTU   AMERICAN   INDIANS. 


;/  < 


and  die  like  heroes,  without  lamentation  or  tears. 
Indeed,  so  lasting  an  impression  has  the  Indian  made 
upon  the  mind  of  his  destroyers  by  his  unconquerable 
spirit,  that  while  the  white  Americans  would  feel 
themselves  degraded  by  any  supposed  alliance,  however 
remote,  with  the  crouching  African,  yet  they  pride 
themselves  in  any  descent,  where  it  can  be  traced,  from 
the  red  son  of  the  forest. 

And  yet  this  interesting,  hospitable,  patriotic,  and 
courageous  race  of  men  are  wasting  rapidly  away,  and 
are  likely  soon  to  become  extinct.  The  opinion  is 
almost  universal  that  they  are  a  doomed  race,  and  must 
ultimately,  and  that  before  very  many  years  have 
elapsed,  totally  disappear.  They  have  been  robbed  of 
their  native  heritage,  and  driven  farther  and  farther 
back  from  the  borders  of  civilisation,  until  now  they  are 
principally  located,  by  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  in  the  rocky  and  swampy  regions  west  of  the 
Mississippi.  Here,  they  who  at  one  time  were  numbered 
by  millions,  do  not  now  number  more  than  500,000  at 
the  most,  and  this  number  decreases  rapidly.  Their  own 
melancholy  conclusion  on  their  impending  fate  is,  tliat 
they  are  "  travelling  to  the  shades  of  their  fathers, 
towards  the  setting  sun."  Well  may  thej''  dread  the 
advance  of  the  white  man,  and  speak  so  revengefully 
of  the  "pale  faces"  who  are  thus  pursuing  them  to 
complete  extermination ! 

Yet  this  is  not  of  necessity  their  fate  ;  for  they  have 
proved  themselves  capable  of  both  civilisation  and  god- 
liness. This  was  convincingly  shown,  200  years  ago, 
under  the  holy  and  martyr-like  labours  of  Eliot  and 
Brainerd,  and  it  has  been  clearly  demonstrated  since 
under    the  Moravian    missionaries.      The    Methodist 


I    : 


m 


I; 


278 


THE  NORTH  AMERICAN   INDIANS. 


Churches,  both  in  the  States  and  in  Canada,  have  had 
churches,  schools,  class-leaders,  and  preachers  among 
»he  Indians,  as  I  have  already  indicated.  The  com- 
mencement of  Methodist  missions  to  them  was  in 
1816,  and  that  by  an  instrument  most  peculiarly  and 
evidently  appointed  of  God.  This  was  a  poor  coloured 
man  of  the  name  of  John  Stewart,  who  soon  after  his 
conversion  had  a  strong  conviction  given  to  him  that 
he  ought  to  go  and  preach  the  Gospel  of  his  Saviour 
to  the  Indians.  With  no  encouragement  and  with 
no  authority  from  man,  he  went  forth  on  foot,  with 
his  Bible  and  Hymn-book,  and  travelled  from  the 
southern  border  some  hundreds  of  miles  through  the 
forest  to  find  them.  When  he  found  them,  in  the 
first  instance,  though  they  were  attracted  from  their 
war-dance  by  his  melodious  singing,  yet  they  attended 
not  to  the  word  he  preached  to  them,  and  even  threat- 
ened his  life,  unless  he  would  give  over  preaching,  and 
depart  from  them. 

He  now  travelled  onwards  until  he  met  the  Wyandot 
tribe,  in  Upper  Sandusky ;  and  at  one  of  their  great 
festivals  he  sued  for  and  obtained  permission  to  speak 
to  them  of  Jesus  Christ — the  morrow  being  appointed 
for  his  preaching.  When  the  hour  came,  the  poor 
converted  negro's  heart  was  chilled  to  find  that  his 
audience  was  only  to  consist  of  one  old  Indian,  of  the 
name  of  *'  Big  Tree,"  and  an  old  Indian  woman  of  the 
name  of  Mary.  Nevertheless,  he  proclaimed  the  way 
of  life  and  salvation  to  these  two.  A  few  more  col- 
lected to  hear  him,  gradually ;  and  though  for  a  time 
they  despised  and  mocked  him  as  "  a  black  man,"  yet 
he  persevered ;  and  by  a  godly  life  and  earnest  repre- 
sentations of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  he  won  their 


TUB  NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


279 


confidence  and  was  instrumental  in  bringing  many  of 
them  to  the  faith  of  Christ. 

In  1819,  the  Rev.  James  B.  Finley  and  other  mis- 
sionaries were  sent  forth  to  the  Indians,  and  among  the 
first-fruits  of  their  ministry  were  some  chiefs  of  dis- 
tinction, who  afterwards  became  eloquent  and  successful 
preachers  to  their  own  people.  One  of  these  bore  the 
strange  name  of  "  Between-the-Loos."  I  have  heard 
Father  Finley  speak  of  him  several  times,  and  there  is 
a  sketch  of  him  in  Father  Finley's  own  biography. 
This  chief  was  of  the  Bear  tribe,  and  had  gained  his 
position  by  the  energy  and  force  of  character  he  had 
displayed  in  the  defence  of  his  people.  Not  long  before 
his  conversion,  he  had  voluntarily  taken  a  long  and 
dangerous  journey  on  foot,  to  plead  the  cause  of  the 
injured  aborigines  before  the  Government  at  "Wash- 
ington. When  reminded  by  the  Secretary  of  State  that 
he  had  come  unauthorised,  and  had  given  no  official 
notice  of  his  coming,  he  replied,  "  I  know ;  but  I 
thought  the  great  way  was  open,  so  I  came.'*  After 
his  conversion,  his  superior  powers  were  unreservedly 
devoted  to  the  cause  of  Christ.  He  became  a  most 
laborious  servant  of  the  cross,  and  a  very  powerful 
preacher ;  was  at  the  head  of  the  Indian  school  de- 
partment, attended  the  Ohio  Annual  Conferences,  and 
went  into  different  parts  to  advocate  the  cause  of  mis- 
sions before  his  red  brethren.  The  following  address 
was  delivered  by  him  at  the  Missionary  Anniversary 
held  at  New  York,  in  the  spring  of  1826.  After 
giving  an  account  of  the  attempts  formerly  made  to 
introduce  Roman  Catholicism  into  his  nation,  he  said, — 

"  It  is  true  we  went  to  Cliureh  on  the  Sabbath-day,  and  then  the  minister 
preached ;  but  we  did  not  understand  one  word  he  said.    We  saw  he  kneeled 


280 


THE   NORTH   AMERICAN    INDIANS. 


I 


Hi 


|! 


I 

i 


down,  mid  stuod  up,  and  went  through  motions  with  his  great  drcM  on ;  nud 
wlicn  rhurrh  was  out  wc  nil  went  to  ii  plnco  where  they  sold  nun  and  whin- 
key,  got  drunk,  and  went  home  drunk,  lie  would  lull  us  we  niuitt  not  get 
drunk ;  but  he  would  drink  himself,  and  fiolic  and  dance  on  thu  Sabbath. 
We  counted  our  bends,  and  kept  our  crosses  about  our  nocks,  or  under  our 
pillows,  and  would  sometimes  prny  to  the  Virgin  Mary.  Hut  we  were  oil  at 
wc  were  betbrc.  It  made  no  change  in  m,  and  I  began  to  think  it  was  not 
as  good  as  the  religion  of  our  fathers ;  for  they  taught  us  to  be  good  men 
aiul  women,  to  worship  the  Oreut  Spirit,  and  to  abstain  from  evil.  Soon 
after  the  Seneca  Prophet  came  to  our  nation,  and  he  told  us  that  he  Itad 
found  the  right  way ;  that  he  had  a  revelation,  and  had  seen  and  talked  with 
au  angel,  nud  was  directed  to  teach  nil  the  Indians;  that  they  must  qui. 
drinking,  and  must  take  up  their  old  Indian  religion,  and  oiler  their  conHunl 
sacritlces,  as  their  fathers  had  done,  which  had  been  neglected  too  much ; 
and,  on  account  of  Ibis,  the  Orent  Spirit  had  forsaken  them:  but,  if  ihey 
would  come  back  and  follow  him,  that  he  would  yet  drive  the  wiilte  iiinn 
back  to  bis  native  home.  We  all  followed  him  till  we  saw  lie  went  crooked, 
and  did  not  do  himself  what  he  taught  us  to  do.  Then  we  folluwed  him  no 
more,  but  returned  to  our  old  cournc.  Some  time  afterwards  came  tlio 
Shawnee  Prophet,  the  brother  of  Tecumseh,  and  be  told  ns  thnt  n  great 
many  years  ago  there  lived  a  prophet  that  had  foretold  the  prcsutit  state  of 
the  Indians,  thnt  they  would  be  scattered  and  driven  from  their  homes ; 
but  that  the  Great  Spirit  had  sai*l  that  he  would  make  them  stand  on  their 
feet  again,  and  would  drive  the  white  man  back  over  the  waters,  and  givu 
them  their  own  coinuiy  ;  that  he  had  seen  an  nngel,  and  he  told  him  that 
all  the  Indians  must  qiiit  drinking,  and  all  turn  to  their  old  ways  that  their 
grandfathers  hud  followed,  and  unite  and  aid  to  drive  the  white  from  our 
country.  Many  believed  and  followed  him.  Hut  I  got  tired,  and  thought 
it  wns  the  best  for  me  to  keep  on  in  the  old  way,  and  so  we  continued. 
Then  the  war  came  on,  and  we  all  went  to  drinking  and  lighting.  When 
the  war  was  over,  we  were  a  nation  of  drunkards,  and  so  wicked  that  the 
chiefs  thought  we  must  try  and  get  up  our  old  religion  of  feasting  and 
dancing.  We  did  our  best  to  get  our  people  to  quit  drinking.  But  while 
we  were  trying  to  reform,  God  sent  a  coloured  man,  named  Stewart,  to  us 
with  the  good  book.  lie  began  to  talk,  and  'lajj,-,  inl  jnoy  ;  but  we  thuught 
it  was  all  nothing,  and  many  made  fun  of  Mm  bit- 1  •■,'■  i>c  was  a  i  i'  \.  man. 
The  white  traders  told  us  we  ought  to  dri' .  lim  dwa^,  for  the  white  people 
■would  not  let  a  black  man  preach  for  them.  We,  however,  watched  his 
walk,  and  found  that  he  walked  straight,  and  did  us  he  said.  At  lost  the 
word  took  hold,  and  many  began  to  listen,  and  believed  it  was  right,  and 
goon  we  bngau  to  pray,  and  we  found  that  it  was  of  God.    Then  others 


THE  NORTH  AMERICAN   INDIAN3. 


281 


cnino,  and  they  told  iia  tUc  lamo  things.  The  work  broke  (xil,  nml  (iod 
haH  (lone  great  thinttM  for  n^.  I  watt  nnioii^  the  lirHt  tliat  took  huM,  niul  I 
found  it  was  the  iri  ion  of  Ik^  Koitr'',  and  from  (>od.  It  iiiiulc  my  soul 
happy,  and  dofs  vet.  The  »<'hool  is  (Joiug  well.  Our  diildri'ii  arc  IcaruiMt^ 
to  read  the  good  <  ik,  and  iiniitnsc  fair  to  make  good  ond  iincli^l  \ni-\\.  Wo 
thank  you,  our  friends,  for  all  the  kindness  and  help  you  iiave  shu-^n  uh,  «nd 
hope  you  will  continue  to  I  I'lp  us  till  wc  can  stand  'ijone  and  \\j\\t.  We 
will  do  our  best  to  spread  this  religion  at  hutne,  and  send  it  to  all  nntions." 

In  the  year  following  that  in  which  tliift  address  was 
delivered  by  him,  he  died  triumphantly  \a  the  faith  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Another  of  these  converted  chiefs  was  named  "  Mo- 
NONCUE."  He  was  a  very  eloquent  and  effective  assistant 
to  the  Missionaries  sent  to  the  Wyandot  tribe.  The 
following  is  Father  Finley's  own  simple  und  graphic 
account  of  this  Christian  chief:  it  wil'  at  once  show 
you  what  he  was,  both  as  a  gifted  and  an  affectionate 
man,  and  as  a  powerful  preacher  of  the  C/ogpel : — 

"  This  renowned  chief  of  the  Wyandot  nation  was  about  ucdiuiu  in  stature, 
and  remarkably  symmetrical  in  form.  He  was  one  of  tlu  most  active  men 
I  ever  knew,  quick  iu  his  motions  as  thought,  and  fleet  n^  the  roe  in  the 
chase.  As  a  speaker,  he  possessed  a  native  elofiucnce  which  was  truly  won- 
derful. Few  could  stand  before  the  overwhelming  torrent  o'  his  eloquence. 
lie  was  a  son  of  thunder.  When  inspired  with  his  theme,  ic  would  move 
a  large  assembly  with  as  much  case,  and  rouse  them  to  as  igh  a  state  of 
excitement,  as  any  speaker  I  ever  heard. 

"There  is  a  peculiarity  in  Indian  eloquence  which  it  is  diflicii't  to  describe. 
To  form  a  correct  idea  of  its  character,  you  must  be  in  the  hear  ng  and  siglit 
of  the  sou  of  the  forest ;  the  tones  of  his  voice  and  the  H.-xh  of  iiis  eye  must 
fall  upon  you,  and  you  must  see  the  significont  movements  of  lii-^  body.  As 
an  orator  Mononcue  was  not  surpassed  by  any  chieftain. 

"  I  will  give  a  specimen  or  two  of  the  elo([upnce  of  this  gifted  son  of  nature. 
Imagine  yourself,  gentle  reader,  in  the  depths  of  the  forest,  surrounded  by 
hundreds  of  chiefs  and  warriors,  all  sunk  in  the  degradation  and  darkness  of 
paganism.  They  have  been  visited  by  the  missionary,  and  several  converted 
Indian  chiefs.  One  after  another  the  chiefs  rise  and  address  the  assembly, 
but  with  no  cfTeet.  The  dark  scowling  infidelity  settles  on  their  brows,  and 
the  ircqueut  umtterings  of  the  excited  auditors  indicate  that  their  speeches 


282 


THE  NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


are  not  acceptable,  and  their  doctrines  not  believed.  At  length  Mouoncue 
rises  amidst  confusion  and  disturbance,  and  ordering  silence  with  a  coin- 
niaading  voice,  he  addresses  them  as  follows : — 

" '  When  you  meet  to  worship  God,  and  to  hear  from  his  word,  shut  up 
your  mouths,  and  open  your  ears  to  hear  what  is  said.  You  have  been  here 
several  days  and  nights  worshipping  your  Indian  god,  who  has  no  existence, 
ouly  in  your  dark  and  beclouded  minds.  You  have  been  burning  your  dogs 
and  venison  for  him  to  smell.  What  kind  of  god  or  spirit  is  he,  that  can  be 
delighted  with  the  smell  of  a  burnt  dog  ?  Do  you  su])pose  the  Great  God 
that  spread  out  the  heavens,  that  hung  up  the  sun  and  moon,  and  all  the 
stars,  to  make  light ;  and  spread  out  this  vast  world  of  land  and  water,  and 
filled  it  with  men  and  beasts,  and  everything  that  swims  or  flies,  is  pleased 
with  the  smell  of  your  burnt  dogs  ?  I  tell  you  to-day,  that  his  great  eye  is 
on  your  hearts,  and  not  on  your  fires,  to  see  and  smell  what  you  are  burn- 
ing. Has  your  worshipping  here  these  few  days  made  you  any  better  ?  Do 
you  feel  that  you  have  gotten  the  victory  over  one  evil  ?  No  I  You  have  not 
taken  the  first  step  to  do  better,  which  is  to  keep  this  holy  day.  This  day 
was  appointed  by  God  himself  a  day  of  rest  for  all  men,  and  a  day  on  which 
men  are  to  worship  him  with  pure  hearts,  and  to  come  before  him,  that  he 
may  examine  their  hearts,  and  east  out  all  their  evil.  This  day  is  appointed 
for  his  ministers  to  preach  to  us  Jesus,  and  to  teach  our  dark  and  cloudy 
minds,  and  to  bring  them  to  light.'  He  here  spoke  of  the  Saviour,  and  his 
dying  to  redeem  the  world ;  that  now  life  and  salvation  are  freely  offered  to 
al'  that  will  lorsake  sin  and  turn  to  God.  He  adverted  to  the  judgment-day, 
and  the  awfid  consequences  of  being  found  in  sin,  and  strangers  to  God. 
Oil  this  subject  he  was  tremendously  awful.  He  burst  into  tears  :  he  caught 
the  handkerchief  from  his  head,  and  wiped  them  from  his  eyes.  Many  in 
the  house  sat  as  if  they  were  petrified,  while  others  wept  in  silence.  Many 
of  the  females  drew  their  blankets  over  their  faces  and  wept.  'Awful, 
awful  day  to  the  wicked!*  said  this  thundering  minister,  'your  faces 
will  look  much  blacker  vtillx  their  shame  and  guilt,  thau  they  do  now  with 
their  paint.'  " 

Mr.  Finley  also  describes  the  funeral  scene  of  Mo- 
noncue's  aged  aunt,  who  had  died  peacefully  in  the 
Lord,  at  which  the  Indian  chief  poured  forth  sponta- 
neously an  eloquent  lamentation.     He  states : — 

'*  I  was  sent  for  to  go  and  bury  her.  Brother  Riley  and  myself  rode  there 
in  the  night,  and  early  in  the  morning  commenced  making  the  cofKu.  It 
was  late  Ixlbre  we  could  finish  it,  and,  consequently,  late  before  the  funeral 


THE  NORTE  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


283 


tt-h  Moi.oncue 
with  a  com- 

(vord,  shut  up 
lave  been  here 
I  no  existence, 
ling  your  dogs 
iG,  that  can  be 
the  Great  God 
n,  and  all  the 
ind  water,  and 
flies,  is  pleased 
lis  great  eye  is 
you  are  burn- 
ly  better  ?    Do 
You  have  not 
lay.     This  day 
V  day  on  which 
e  him,  that  he 
ay  is  appointed 
nrk  and  cloudy 
aviour,  and  his 
reely  offered  to 
judgment-day, 
mgers  to  God. 
ars :  he  caught 
yes.     Many  in 
iilence.     Many 
ept.      'Awful, 
'  your   faces 
y  do  now  with 


self  rode  there 
the  oolHu.  It 
ore  the  funeral 


was  over.  But  I  think  I  shall  never  forget  that  scene.  It  was  between 
sundown  and  dark  when  we  left  with  the  corpse.  The  lowering  clouds  hung 
heavily  over  us,  and  the  virgin  snow  was  falling.  We  entered  a  deep  and 
lonely  wood,  fo\ir  men  carrying  the  bier,  and  the  rest  all  following  in  Indian 
file.  When  we  came  to  the  burying-ground,  the  Indians  stood  wrapped  up 
in  their  blankets,  leaning  against  the  forest  trees,  in  breathless  silence,  and 
all  bore  the  aspect  of  death.  Not  one  word  was  said  while  the  grave  was 
filling  up,  but  from  the  daughter  and  some  of  the  grandchildren  a  broken 
sigh  escaped.  At  length  Mononcue  broke  out  in  the  following  strains : — 
'  Farewell,  my  old  and  precious  aunt,  you  have  suffered  much  in  this  world 
of  sin  and  sorrow.  You  set  us  all  a  good  example ;  and  we  have  often  heard 
you  speak  of  Jesus  in  the  sweetest  strains,  while  the  falling  tears  have  wit- 
nessed the  sincerity  of  your  heart.  Farewell,  my  aunt,  we  shall  no  more 
hear  your  tender  voice,  that  used  to  lull  all  our  sorrows,  and  drive  our  fears 
from  us.  Farewell,  my  aunt  1  that  hand  that  fed  us  will  feed  us  no  more. 
Farewell  to  your  sorrows — all  is  over  1  There  your  body  must  lie  till  the 
voice  of  the  Son  of  God  shall  call  you  up.  We  weep  not  with  sorrow,  but 
with  joy,  that  your  soul  is  in  heaven.'  Then  he  said,  '  Who  of  you  all  will 
meet  her  in  heaven?'  " 

There  were  other  early  converts,  both  in  the  Bear, 
and  "Wyandot,  and  other  tribes,  who  were  signally 
owned  of  God,  as  preachers  to  their  brethren.  "  Squire 
Grey  Eyes,"  introduced  to  the  General  Conference,  as  I 
have  described,  was  one  of  them.  Peter  Jones,  John 
Sunday,  and  Peter  Jacobs,  whom  we  have  seen  in  our 
Methodist  assemblies  in  England,  were  others. 

In  the  year  1833  a  circumstance  occurred  in  relation 
to  the  tribe  of  Indians  bearing  the  strange  name  of 
"  Flat  Heads,"  who  are  dwellers  in  a  distant  region  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  which  showed  their  earnest  desire  to 
have  a  better  religion  than  their  own,  and  which  deeply 
interested  the  Christian  public  of  America  in  their 
behalf.  They  heard  a  trader  who  visited  them  inciden- 
tally speak  of  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Saviour  of  mankind, 
and  of  the  Scriptures  which  testify  of  him.  A  strong 
desire  was  instantly  awakened  in  their  minds  to  know 


: 


284 


THE   NORTH   AMERICAN   INDIANS. 


si. 


more  of  these  things,  and  they  eagerly  inquired  of  the 
trader  what  more  he  knew  concerning  these  truths.  He 
had  to  declare  that  he  himself  was  not  able  to  teach 
them,  but  that  there  were  men  "living  towards  the 
rising  sun"  who  could  tell  them  all  they  desired  to 
know.  They  instantly  called  a  council  of  their  nation, 
and  appointed  four  of  their  principal  and  most  trust- 
worthy men  to  go  many  hundreds  of  miles,  over  the 
rocks,  and  through  the  wilderness,  to  General  Clark, 
the  Indian  agent  at  St.  Louis,  to  inquire  of  him  what  he 
could  teli  them  of  Jesus  Christ  and  his  word. 

These  deputies  instantly  departed  on  their  long  and 
dangerous  journey,  reached  St.  Louis  in  safety,  received 
from  the  general  all  the  Christian  instruction  he  could 
give  them,  and  then  returned  to  their  own  people  to 
communicate  what  they  had  learned.  Two  of  them 
reached  the  tribe  of  anxiously-waiting  Indians  in 
safety,  and  related  all  they  had  learned,  but  the  other 
two  had  fallen  through  exhaustion  in  their  long  travel. 

The  publication  of  this  interesting  fact  drew  forth 
much  Christian  sympathy  towards  the  Indiana  in  the 
western  region.  The  Methodist  Mission  Fund  was 
considerably  augmented  through  it ;  several  missionaries 
were  sent  to  the  tribe,  and  soon,  from  Oregon,  and 
other  States  beyond  the  great  Mississippi,  Indian  con- 
verts in  large  numbers  were  gathered  into  the  Christian 
Church.  Other  eflforts  for  the  conversion  of  the  Indians 
have  been  successfully  made  both  in  the  United  States 
and  Canada.  In  some  instances  the  Indian  converts 
began  to  show  a  disposition  for  regulated  habits  of  life ; 
they  settled  on  farms  and  in  villages,  and  gave  promise 
of  advancement  in  civilisation  as  well  as  religion.  But 
the  cupidity  of  the  American  Government  dispossessed 


THE   NORTH   AMERICAN   INDIANS, 


285 


3d  of  the 
uths.  He 
to  teach 
vards  the 
lesired  to 
ir  nation, 
.ost  trust- 
over  the 
ral  Clark, 
n  what  he 

long  and 
f,  received 
a  he  could 
people  to 
0  of  them 
Indians    in 
;  the  other 
ng  travel. 
Irew  forth 
ans  in  the 
Fund  was 
lissionaries 
cegon,  and 
ndian  con- 
B  Christian 
he  Indians 
ited  States 
,n  converts 
)its  of  life ; 
,ve  promise 
gion.     But 
ispossessed 


(( 


i 

4:1 


them  of  the  lands  which,  in  mockery,  had  been  "  gua- 
ranteed to  them  and  to  their  children  for  ever,"  and 
drove  them  from  their  settled  homes  in  the  heart  of  the 
country  to  the  uncultivated  and  uninhabited  parts  beyond 
the  Mississippi.  There  most  of  the  Indians  have  been 
located  by  this  "paternal"  government;  there,  with 
a  deep  sense  of  their  wrongs  and  injuries  burning 
within  their  souls,  they  at  present  exist;  and  there, 
probably,  they  will  be  permitted  to  linger  until  the 
large  Western  States  shall  be  peopled  and  cultivated ; 
then,  if  any  of  them  remain,  they  will,  most  likely,  be 
driven  farther  "VYest  still — either  to  take  refuge  in  the 
rocky  uncultivable  heights  of  the  mountains,  or  to 
wander,  desolate  and  uncared  for,  on  the  western  shores 
by  the  Pacific. 

This  removal  of  the  Indian  tribes  from  the  abodes  of 
civilisation  has  brought  ruin  upon  the  Christian  churches 
which  had  been  established  among  them ;  for  though 
Methodist  missionaries  have  followed  them  to  their 
Western  region,  yet  the  number  of  church  members  has 
been  very  seriously  reduced.  In  some  instances  the  mis- 
sionaries to  them  are  encouraged  in  their  labours,  as  you 
would  learn  from  their  reports  to  the  General  Confer- 
ence, noticed  in  a  former  letter.  Where  brought  under 
the  power  of  the  Gospel,  they  live  orderly,  and  increase  ; 
but  without  religion  they  give  way  to  irregular  and 
corrupting  habits,  and  waste  away  at  a  rate  that  is  most 
aflfecting  to  observe.  If  they  are  to  be  saved  from  utter 
extermination,  it  must  be  by  the  Gospel  of  the  Son  of 
God. 

In  Canada  the  Government  has  dealt  more  justly 
towards  the  red  people ;  it  has  cared  for  them  and  pro- 
vided for  them  with  true  paternal  interest.     But  there. 


^  1 


\  \ 


286 


THE  NORTH   AMERICAN   INDIANS. 


I 


as  in  the  United  States,  without  the  Gospel  of  Christ 
they  fade  away  before  the  face  and  tread  of  the  white 
man.  His  "fire-water"  and  profligacy  corrupt  and 
destroy  them;  and  it  is  to  be  feared  that  this  whole 
nation  of  heroes  and  patriots,  once  spread  over  the 
North  American  continent,  will  one  day  have  fallen 
under  the  cupidity  and  sinfulness  of  professing  Chris- 
tians. And  if  the  fall  of  one  hero  and  patriot  be  so 
loudly  lamented,  what  shall  be  the  voice  of  mourning 
which  shall  lament  the  fall  of  a  whole  nation  ? 


1   'I 


I  of  Christ 
the  white 
>rrupt  and 
this  whole 
L  over  the 
lave  fallen 
ling  Chris- 
triot  be  so 
mourning 


i 


5  7 


I 


LETTER  XVII. 


THE  MISSISSIPPI,  AND  THE  "  FAR  WEST. 


0, 

0. 

m 

lA 

v> 

<n 

» 

» 

S 

H 

.•' 

j^: 

Our  "Farewell"  to  the  Conference,  and  Departure  from  Indianapolis — Rail' 
way  to  St.  Louis — Forests  and  Prairies— Gigantic  Scale  of  American 
Scenery — Rapid  Glance  at  St.  Louis — Embarkment  on  the  Mississippi — 
Confluence  with  the  Missouri — River  Scenery — Magnificent  Night  Scene — 
Importance  of  the  "  Volley  of  the  Mississippi " — River  Steamer  and  Com- 
pany— "  Snags  "  and  "  Sawyers  "—Squatting  Wood-Cutters— The  Missis- 
sippi by  Night — Landing  at  Quincy. 


The  day  arrived  when  we  had  to  leave  Indianapolis, 
for  we  had  duties  to  perform  in  England  before  the  as- 
sembling of  our  own  Conference  at  Bristol,  that  required 
us  to  return  by  a  certain  date.  Our  brethren,  too,  of 
Western  and  Eastern  Canada  had  memorialised  us  to 
attend  their  Conferences  on  our  way  home.  We  felt  sad 
at  the  thought  of  separating  from  friends  and  brethren 
with  whom,  for  nearly  three  weeks,  we  had  been  so 
intimately  and  pleasantly  associated ;  and,  though  home 
and  friends  in  our  own  land  beckoned  us,  yet  it  was  in 
serious  mood  and  with  heavy  hearts  that  we  went  to  the 
State-House,  on  the  day  of  our  departure  for  Canada 
and  for  home,  to  bid  the  Conference  farewell. 

Bishop  Morris  was  in  the  chair  when  we  took  our 
leave,  and  Bishop  Waugh,  the  senior  bishop,  addressed 
us  on  behalf  of  the  brethren,  referring  to  our  mission 


»  \ 


288 


TUB   MISSISSIPPI,   AND  THE   FAR   WEST. 


;  ^1 


ill 


and  our  scryices  in  the  kindest  manner,  and  assuring 
us  of  their  love  to  us  and  to  our  brethren  in  England. 
We  replied  with  full  hearts,  while  the  Conference 
and  spectators  were  all  in  tears.  The  Conference  then, 
on  the  proposal  of  the  venerable  bishop,  stood  up  with 
lifted  hands,  and  in  silent  prayer  committed  us  to  the 
care  and  protection  of  the  Almighty :  and,  when  we 
stepped  down  from  the  platform  to  leave  the  State- 
House,  the  bishops,  ministers,  and  friends  crowded 
around  us,  expressing,  in  the  most  affectionate  and 
earnest  manner,  their  good-will  for  us,  for  our  country, 
and  for  British  Methodists. 

We  struggled  through  the  friendly  crowd  to  the 
governor's  oflfice,  below  stairs,  for  some  official  returns 
on  America  which  he  had  kindly  obtained  for  us,  and, 
laden  with  volumes  and  pamphlets  issued  by  the  legis- 
lature, we  made  our  way  to  the  governor's  house,  that 
we  might  pack  up  our  luggage  and  prepare  for  de- 
parHire.  But  here  again  we  were  surrounded  by  friends 
of  the  city  and  of  the  country,  who  crowded  upon  us  to 
bid  us  adieu.  We  forced  ourselves  up  into  our  lodging- 
room  and  began  to  arrange  our  portmanteaus,  when  it 
became  almost  immediately  filled  with  ministers  from 
the  Conference  to  bid  us  another  and  a  final  farewell. 
And  through  the  remaining  hours  of  the  evening  similar 
kindness  and  attentions  were  shown  to  us. 

We  left  Indianapolis  for  St.  Louis  and  the  Mississippi 
by  the  8*40  train,  in  the  evening,  his  excellency  the 
governor,  with  his  Irish  man-servant,  kindly  accompany- 
ing us  to  the  station,  and  assisting  us  with  the  disposal 
of  our  luggage,  and  with  the  obtaining  of  our  railway- 
tickets.  We  took  a  very  grateful  and  affectionate  leave  of 
our  generous  and  attentive  host,  and  most  earnestly  de- 


THB  MISSISSIPPI,  AND  TUB  FAR  WEST. 


289 


44' 


sired  that  he  might  visit  England,  and  i^.as  give  us  the 
opportunity  of  making  some  practical  return  for  the  very 
great  kindness  he  had  shown  us,  by  our  attentions  to 
him  in  a  land  distant  from  his  own  home.  It  was  a  fine 
moonlight  night,  and  we  could  see  the  principal  objects 
and  features  of  the  city  as  the  huge  snorting  engine 
dragged  us  away  from  it.  Kemembering  how  much  we 
had  seen  and  felt  in  Indianapolis,  we  looked  towards  it, 
as  long  as  any  part  of  it  was  to  be  seen,  with  strong 
emotion,  and  when,  in  the  cold  grey  light,  it  at  length 
faded  from  our  view,  we  took  off  our  travelling-caps, 
and,  with  tears  in  our  eyes,  waved  a  last  farewell  towards 
a  city  which  must  lastingly  live  in  our  remembrance. 
We  spoke  to  each  other  of  the  accomplishment  of  our 
mission  and  of  our  journey  homewards,  which  was  now 
in  reality  commenced,  and  turned  our  thoughts  to  Eng- 
land, and  to  what  awaited  us  there. 

Our  road  for  some  time  lay  through  forest  lands  par- 
tially cleared  and  cultivated,  and  some  of  the  moonlight 
effects  in  the  dark,  gloomy  passages  through  the  forest 
avenues,  and  upon  our  breaking  forth  into  the  silvery 
light  in  the  clearings,  were  particularly  striking.  These 
passages  through  the  woods  were  indeed  awfully  grand ; 
they  seemed  filled  with  the  very  shadow  of  death,  and, 
when  looking  forth  into  the  impenetrable  depth  of 
darkness,  and  thinking  of  the  serpents  and  beasts  of 
prey  which  harboured  there,  it  was  difficult  to  throw  off 
a  shuddering  feeling.  We  passed  Terra  Haute,  a  neat, 
pleasantly-situated  town  of  rising  importance ;  and, 
threading  our  course  by  the  side  of  the  deep  blue  Wabash 
River,  we  passed  over  miles  of  rich,  self-sown.  Prairie 
land,  to  the  old  French  settlement  of  Vincennes.  Here 
wc  changed  cars  about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and 

u 


I   ( 


290 


THE  MISSISSIPPI,  AND  THE  PAR  WEST. 


took  some  refreshment  preparatory  to  our  journey 
directly  westward  across  the  State  of  Illinois  to  St.  Louis. 
I  may  here  note  that  it  was  in  this  neighbourhood,  by 
the  side  of  the  Wabash,  that  Kobert  Owen  made  his 
heathenish  attempt  at  a  socialist  colony.  Twelve  months, 
however,  were  sufficient  to  bring  it  to  an  end,  and  to  fill 
his  deluded  followers  with  the  disappointment  they  have 
everywhere  had  to  experience  from  his  godless  and 
abortive  schemes. 

We  now  saw  and  felt  ourselves  to  be  fairly  in  the 
Western  wilderness.  The  moon,  Thich  had  been  our 
companion  on  the  way,  and  which  had  gleamed  for  us 
at  intervals  into  the  depths  of  the  dark  forest,  and  upon 
the  blue  water,  lost  its  brightness ;  and  the  stars, 
which  had  shone  so  spiritually,  and  which  we  had  so 
earnestly  watched  for,  and  beheld  in  their  piercing  light 
at  glimpses  as  we  rushed  through  the  woods,  now  faded 
from  our  sight.  The  morning  light  began  to  dawn  in 
the  horizontal  distance  of  the  boundless  Prairie ;  gra- 
dually, objects  carae  faintly  out  of  the  darkness  and  the 
twilight,  with  an  apparition -like  effect ;  and  soon  the 
ascending  sun  pierced  the  woods  to  their  very  heart ; 
lighted  up  our  roads  through  the  glowing,  tire-gleaming 
forest  colonnades;  and  revealed  to  us  the  Ov  an- like 
Prairie,  with  its  long  grass  bending  under  the  breeze, 
like  waves,  all  round  to  the  horizon,  and  showily  inter- 
spersed with  large  bunches  of  red,  yellow,  lilac,  and 
white  flowers.  English  travellers  can  never  be  weary 
of  a  journey  like  ours  in  the  Western  wilderness.  The 
deep  blackness  in  the  depths  of  the  forests ;  the  huge 
dark  pines,  silver-stemmed  birches,  and  verdant  maples, 
festooned  and  garlanded  by  varied-coloured  creepers  up 
to  their  topmost  boughs ;  the  thick  entangled  brush- 


m> 


THE  MISSISSIPPI,  AND  THE  FAR  WEST. 


20] 


wood,  mixed  with  wild  flowers;  the  clouds  of  larg 
gaudy  butterflies,  brilliant  gauze- winged  dragon-flies, 
and  gleaming  flre-flies,  with  here  and  there  a  bird  of 
purple  or  red  plumage;  and  then  the  boundless,  un- 
broken, self-sown  pasture-lands,  and  interminable  prai- 
ries ; — these  sights  and  scenes  so  varied,  with  all  their 
vastness  and  silent  solitariness,  have  a  power  over  the 
feelings  which  is  indescribable — they  are  so  utterly 
unlike  anything  one  has  seen  in  England  or  in  Europe. 
Since  I  beheld  them  I  have  dreamed  of  them  by  night, 
and  thought  of  them  by  daj',  until  my  mind  seems 
filled  with  them,  and  until  it  seems  stretched  out  and 
expanded  with  the  effort  to  contain  them. 

Indeed  here  lies  the  great  difference  between  Ame- 
rican scenery,  generally,  and  the  scenery  of  Europe. 
Here  all  is  on  so  much  larger  a  scale.  Nature  is  here 
wrought  out  with  so  much  more  boldness,  that  it  seems 
everywhere  to  have  a  sort  of  large-featured  sublimity  ; 
and  when  you  turn  your  mind  from  it  to  Europe,  it 
seems  like  reversing  the  telescope,  and  reducing  crea- 
tion to  miniature.  I  do  not  wonder  that  an  Ameri- 
can, when  visiting  England,  should  somewhat  compla- 
cently express  himself  as  if  afraid  to  move,  lest  he 
should  fall  off  the  sides  of  our  little  island ;  or  that  the 
phrase  of  "  our  great  country"  should  here  so  often  be 
used.  The  land,  in  its  vast  length  and  breadth,  in  its 
immense  chains  of  granite  and  limestone  mountains, 
and  sweeping  valleys,  in  its  unbridged  chasms,  unshorn 
forests,  interminable  prairies,  and  deep  swelling  rivers, 
thousands  of  miles  in  length — looks  as  if  it  were  framed 
for  a  race  of  giants. 

We  reached  the  terminus  of  the  westward  railway  on 
Tuesday  at  noon,  and   proceeded   from  thence  in  an 


V  s 


i 


292 


THE  MISSISSIPPI    AND  THE  PAR   WEST. 


omnibus  to  tho  eastern  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  which 
was  near,  that  we  might  cross  the  great  river  by  the 
steam- ferry  to  St.  Louis.  And  here,  in  going  the  short 
distance,  we  were  exposed  to  extreme  danger  by  the 
recklessness  of  our  driver.  To  get  first  to  tho  water- 
side, he  drove  post  another  omnibus,  round  a  sharp 
angle,  and  over  soft  new-made  ground,  on  the  edge  of  a 
very  deep  embankment,  until  tho  wheels  on  one  side 
sank  down  far  into  the  soil,  and  threatened  us  with  a 
complete  overthrow.  Being  by  the  door,  I  jumped  out 
of  the  vehicle,  expecting  to  see  it  turn  over  the  next 
moment ;  but  this  American  Jehu  pushed  on  to  the 
edge  of  the  river,  and  kept  the  omnibus  and  its  sixteen 
or  eighteen  passengers  right  side  upwards.  "We  drove 
on  to  the  deck  of  the  ferry-boat,  and  remaining  within 
the  omnibus,  crossed  the  strong,  heavy,  muddy  current 
of  the  Mississippi,  which  there  is  about  a  mile  wide  and 
some  70  feet  deep.  "We  soon  were  driven  up  the  land- 
ing on  the  other  side,  and  found  ourselves  rattling  and 
rocking  in  the  carriage  through  the  streets  of  St.  Louis. 
This  city,  like  almost  every  other  we  have  visited  in 
America,  occupies  a  very  favourable  site  for  commerce. 
The  best  view  of  it  is  obtained  while  crossing  the  ferry. 
It  is  thence  beheld  rising  gradually  up  from  the  water's 
edge  to  a  considerable  height,  with  a  mile  or  more  of 
wharf  thronged  with  craft  of  different  sizes  in  front. 
Large  massive  warehouses  line  the  quay,  while  behind 
rise  the  streets,  principally  in  parallel  rows,  with  their 
houses,  stores,  and  public  buildings,  planted  and  back- 
grounded with  green-lands  and  shrubbery.  A  more 
advantageous  situation  could  not  possibly  have  been 
chosen  for  this  great  commercial  city  of  the  "West, 
which  already  contains  more  than  94,000  inhabitants, 


THE  MISSISSIPPI,  AND  THE   FAR   WEST. 


203 


ami  exhibits  everywhere  the  signs  of  activity  and  pro- 
gress. It  is,  in  fact,  the  central  point  of  coinnioico 
between  the  west  and  the  east,  the  north  and  the  south, 
of  the  United  States;  and  considering  its  connections 
with  the  great  rivers  of  the  north-west,  with  the  Ohio, 
and  its  outlet  by  New  Orleans  to  the  ocean,  one  would 
hardly  dare  to  say  what  St.  Louis,  in  extent  of  commerce 
will  become.  It  now  employs  more  than  2000  steam- 
boats; its  import  and  export  returns  show  that  it  shares 
one-third  of  the  whole  foreign  commerce  of  the  United 
States. 

Wo  had  a  rapid  view  of  the  different  parts  of  the 
city ;  found  it  contained  some  good  houses  and  stores ; 
and  were  interested  with  the  great  mixture  of  nations 
of  which  its  inhabitants  are  evidently  composed.  St. 
Louis  was  originally  a  French  settlement ;  and  it  is 
said  that,  among  the  first  inhabitants  of  the  town,  there 
was  no  slight  admixture  of  Indian  blood.  But  now 
it  is  inhabited  by  natives,  not  only  of  all  the  States  in 
the  Union,  but  from  nearly  all  the  countries  of  Europe. 
"VVe  were  shown  through  its  bustling  thoroughfares  by  a 
Methodist  minister,  who  was  on  his  way  from  the 
General  Conference  to  his  field  of  labour  in  Kansas  and 
Iowa.  He  is  a  fine,  athletic,  energetic  man,  who  has 
evidently  learned  to  "rough  his  way"  for  the  attain- 
ment of  his  noble  object,  and  related  to  us  some  inter- 
esting events  and  circumstances  connected  with  his 
missionary  work  among  the  Far  West  settlers  and  the 
Indians.  Having  made  inquiries  concerning  Methodism 
in  St.  Louis,  and  having  learned  that  it  is  divided 
between  the  Northern  and  Southern  Churches,  and  num- 
bers in  white  and  coloured  persons  some  1500  members ; 
and  having  visited  the  ofiice  for  the  Methodist  news- 


I 


-??-:-rjj;;':at;inuitwiHBmni'lM" 


\\ 


294 


THE   MISSISSIPPI,   AND  THE   FAR   WEST. 


i! 


paper  of  the  "West,  we  made  our  way  down  to  the 
wharf,  and  after  hard  search  among  the  crowd  of  ships, 
and  dragging  of  our  luggage  to  and  fro  several  times 
amid  the  scorching  and  exhausting  heat,  we  found  a 
steamship  that  would  take  us  up  the  Mississippi,  went 
on  board,  and  by  five  o'clock,  or  a  little  later,  loosened 
from  our  moorings  to  ascend  "  the  Father  of  Waters." 

The  Mississippi,  for  some  few  miles,  was  in  the  main 
such  as  it  appears  to  be  in  front  of  the  city  of  St.  Louis 
— a  wide,  muddy  stream,  with  a  heavy,  swelling  current 
in  the  middle,  which  hurries  down  huge  logs  of  wood,  and 
crooked  trunks  of  trees,  in  its  course  towards  the  ocean ; 
while  the  sandbanks  at  its  side^  are  often  verdureless. 
As  we  proceeded,  however,  the  scenery  on  each  boundary 
became  more  picturesque,  especially  on  the  western  side, 
where  the  bank  of  the  river  rose  to  a  considerable 
height,  and  was  richly  covered  with  trees.  At  about 
eighteen  miles  distant  from  St.  Louis,  on  the  left,  the 
great  turbulent  Missouri  River,  which  rises  in  the 
Rocky  Mountain?,,  and  drains  the  land  for  2655  miles, 
pours  its  flood  of  waters  into  the  Mississippi.  Islands 
are  constantly  being  raised  up,  swept  away,  and  formed 
again,  by  the  soil-deposit  and  force  at  the  confluence 
of  these  two  giant  rivers.  Twenty-five  miles  further 
upwards  the  Illinois  River,  which  is  a  fine,  deep,  navi- 
gable stream,  245  miles  long,  also  flows  into  the  Missis- 
sippi; but  so  superior  is  the  mightier  volume  of  this,  **  the 
Father  of  Waters,"  as  the  Indians  named  it,  that  while 
it  is  known  to  deepen  in  its  channel  by  its  reception  of 
tributary  rivers,  yet,  by  the  appearance  on  its  surface, 
it  seemed  to  gain  no  accession  by  its  union  with  the 
flowing  volumes  of  the  Missouri  and  the  Illinois.  When 
we  had  passed  the  confluence  of  the  two  rivers,  and 


"#r 


THE   MISSISSIPPI,   AND  THE   FAR   WEST. 


295 


began  again  to  ascend  the  Mississippi,  it  flowed,  appa- 
rently as  widely  and  as  heavily  as  before.  But  its  waters 
were  now  clearer,  and  its  banks,  with  their  trees  and 
rocks,  were  seen  reflected  on  the  glassy  surface.  Nume- 
rous lovely  islands  also  burst  upon  our  sight — islands 
which  the  mighty  river  Lad  formed  by  its  eddying 
current  striking  diagonally  from  a  point,  and  depositing 
its  sediment.  These  islands,  in  an  incredibly  short 
period  of  time,  become  clothed  with  fast-growing  cotton- 
trees,  that  give  shelter  to  various  kinds  of  aquatic  fowl, 
such  as  swans,  geese,  ducks,  and  pelicans,  which  con- 
gregate there.  The  captain  of  our  steamer  stated  that 
no  chart  of  the  river,  with  its  islands,  could  be  laid 
down,  so  as  to  be  practically  and  permanently  useful ; 
and  that  he  had  known  islands  to  be  produced  within 
the  period  of  his  going  up  the  river  and  returning. 
There  might  be  some  exaggeration  in  the  latter  part  of 
this  statement :  but  to  the  speedy  formation  of  islands 
in  the  Mississippi,  and  of  the  rapid  growth  of  their  rich 
covering  of  verdure,  many  give  testimony.  The  trees  at 
the  sides  of  the  river  increased  in  size,  until  we  were 
bounded  on  the  right  and  on  the  left  with  dense  forests 
of  giant  growth,  extending  on  the  plains  and  over  the 
hills,  as  far  as  we  could  see.  In  some  parts,  the  river 
had  overflowed  its  banks,  and  was  many  miles  wide, 
until  the  scene  combined,  with  its  own  vast  extent  all 
the  swelling  grandeur  of  the  Scotch  and  Cumberland 
lakes,  and,  with  its  numberless  and  picturesque  islands, 
all  the  romantic  loveliness  of  Killarney. 

Towards  the  evening  of  our  first  day  on  the  river,  a 
vision  of  indescribable  magnificence  and  glory  burst 
upon  us.  The  sun  was  sinking  behind  the  hills  and 
forest  trees  on  our  left,  and  had  irradiated  all  that  side 


--  «i. 


i. 


r ; 


t 


f 


296 


w 


THE  MISSISSIPPI,   AND  THE   FAR  WEST. 


of  the  sky  with  the  richest  orange  and  crimson  light. 
His  golden  beams  pierced  through  the  fringes  of  the 
massive  foliage,  and  shone  aslant  on  the  water.  The 
colours  deepened  into  glowing  carmine  and  lake  tints, 
until  at  length  the  wholo  scene  seemed  dyed  in  scarlet, 
and  yet  shone  as  if  on  fire.  On  our  right,  over  the 
dark  forest,  now  came  up  the  moon,  apparently  twice  as 
large  as  we  see  it  in  England,  and  not  pale  and  silvery, 
but  red  and  glowing,  as  if  it  had  ascended  from  out  a 
furnace  of  molten  gold.  It  rose  rapidly  into  the 
heavens,  gilded  not  only  the  hills  and  the  trees,  but 
threw  such  a  pathway  of  splendour  across  the  river, 
that  we  seemed  surrounded  with  dazzling  enchant- 
ment. 

Exclamations  of  wonder  and  admiration  broke  un- 
controllably from  Dr.  Hannah  and  myself  as  we  wit- 
nessed the  successive  phases  of  this  vision  of  creation's 
glory ;  and  at  last  I  climbed  to  the  upper  deck  of  tho 
steamer,  to  muse  upon  it  alone.  Here,  thought  I,  I 
am  really  on  the  bosom  of  this  magnificent  Mississippi, 
which  has  long,  through  reading  and  from  report,  been 
a  dream  of  the  imagination  that  I  never  expected  to 
realise.  Here,  for  untold  thousands  of  years,  has  flowed 
this  mighty  river,  through  unbroken  solitudes,  a  course 
of  3200  miles  in  length,  draining  off  into  the  measure- 
less ocean  the  surplus  water  of  considerably  more  than  a 
million  square  miles — swallowing  up  in  its  courso  the 
turbulent  Missouri,  the  bright  Ohio,  the  white  Arkan- 
sas, and  the  Red  and  Yellow  Stone  llivers,  all  of  great 
depth,  length,  and  breadth,  and  yet,  without  any 
changed  appearance,  absorbing  all  of  them  into  its 
volume.  Thus  it  flowed,  perhaps,  ages  before  the  scream 
of  the  eagle  or  the  war-whoop  of  the  Red  Indian  were 


THE  MISSISSIPPI,  AND   THE   FAR  WEST. 


297 


heard  on  its  banks ;  and  thus  it  shall  flow  on,  perhaps, 
to  the  end  of  time.  But  how  different  will  be  the 
Future  from  the  Past !  Here,  on  each  side  of  this 
mighty  river,  shall  rise  cities  and  ports,  in  which 
civilised  man  shall  build  and  trade,  and  send  forth  the 
produce  of  the  cultivated  soil  and  the  works  of  his  hands 
to  the  ends  of  the  world ;  and  here,  amidst  the  teeming 
population  which  shall  throng  these  shores,  shall  rise 
churches,  and  colleges,  and  halls  of  learning  and 
science  that  shall  vie  with  those  of  my  own  land ;  and 
here  shall  rise  men  of  art,  and  literrture,  and  religion, 
whose  names  will  become  watchwords  for  future  gene- 
rations. 

I  tried  to  imagine  the  feelings  of  De  Soto,  when,  two 
centuries  ago,  he  discovered  this  great  river.  And  I 
thought  also  of  the  self-forgetful,  self-sacrificing,  and 
persevering  zeal  of  the  French  Jesuit  missionaries,  who, 
nearly  two  hundred  years  ago,  adventured  upon  the 
ocean -like  current  of  this  giant  river  in  light  frail 
canoes,  and  explored  it,  for  Christ  and  their  king,  from 
the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Those 
disciples  of  Ignatius  Loyola  (Joilet,  Marguette,  and  Le 
Salle)  may  have  been  mistaken  men,  but  surely  their 
examples  of  Christian  neroism  and  enterprise  ought  to 
shame  and  stimulate  Protestant  ministers  into  self- 
denying  and  laborious  service  for  the  Lord  of  Hosts. 

But  the  Future — the  Future  ! — is  the  thought  which 
swells  within  you  as  you  gaze  on  this  grand  river ; 
indeed,  it  is  the  thought  which  is  perpetually  rising 
uppermost  go  where  you  will  in  America.  No  hoary 
castles  or  ivy-hung  monastic  ruins  serve  to  wing  back 
your  thoughts  to  the  Past  in  this  region.  Each  forest- 
clearing  and  embryo  giant  city  lead  you  to  ask,  amidst 


.'V 


r 


■} 


I 


P' 


\  \ 


298 


THE   MISSISSIPPI,   AND   THE   FAR   WEST. 


the  exhaustless  resources  of  the  vast  country,  ""What 
will  this  America  and  its  people  be  in  the  Future?" 
This  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  with  its  unparalleled 
richness  of  soil,  and  with  every  variety  of  climate,  has  in 
it  more  than  one  and  a  quarter  million  of  square  miles, 
and  would  hold,  without  inconvenience,  all  the  nations 
of  Europe.  Its  commerce  is  now  much  more  than  all 
the  foreign  commerce  of  the  States  besides.  Its  rivers, 
which  are  its  great  highways,  extend  17,000  miles,  and 
already  have  upon  them  1200  steamboats.  The  tide  of 
emigrationhas  set  in  for  this  valley  of  the  Mississippi 
from  all  parts  of  the  States — nay,  from  all  parts  of  the 
world.  Its  dark  rich  mould — the  deposit  of  ages,  and 
often  100  feet  deep — where  cultivated,  produces  corn 
and  fruit  rapidly  and  abundantly,  until  this  great  "  cen- 
tral basin  of  the  States"  appears  like  a  huge  loaded 
harvest-waggon.     As  Berkeley  wrote, — 

"  Westward  the  course  of  empire  takes  its  way," 

and  numerous  circumstances  contribute  to  the  rush  of 
the  population  towards  it.  Disappointed,  ruined,  and 
restless  men  of  the  States  hasten  towards  it  with  hope, 
or  for  shelter,  and  men  of  other  nations  press  on  to  it  as 
the  great  agricultural  field  of  the  world,  where  they 
may  obtain  as  many  acres  as  they  choose  at  almost  a 
nominal  price.  Already  there  are  ten  or  twelve  mil- 
lions of  people  in  this  immense  valley,  and  fifty  or  sixty 
thousands  a  year  enter  it  afresh.  And  when  it  is 
remembered  that  the  Mississippi  River  lies  along  the 
middle  of  the  United  States,  and  has  as  much  land  on 
the  west  of  it  as  it  has  on  the  east,  the  mind  shrinks 
from  the  fatigue  of  stretching  itself  to  conceive  what 
America  and  its  Mississippi  valley  shall  one  day  be- 


THE  MISSISSIPPI,   AND  THE  FAR  WEST. 


299 


reat  "  cen- 


come.  "Going  "West"  and  "Far  West"  are  phrases 
that  sound  more  curiously,  and  raise  the  imagination, 
the  more  one  hears  them.  We  heard  them  in  the 
Eastern  States,  we  heard  them  as  we  crossed  the 
AUeghanies ;  but  still  we  hear  them — though  hundreds 
of  miles  from  the  Atlantic,  the  cry  is  still  "Going 
West ! "  and  about  the  country  "  Far  West." 

After  the  moon  had  risen  high  into  the  heavens,  I 
went  below  into  the  saloon  and  the  under-deck,  to  look 
at  our  steamboat  and  our  fellow-passengers.  The 
steamer  was  a  monster  of  its  class,  and  bore  the  name 
of  Mattie  Mayne.  It  had  three  decks,  and  seemed  to 
have  no  hull  to  rest  upon,  and  nothing  but  its  large 
paddle-wheels  to  unite  its  piled-up  castle-like  tiers 
together.  The  saloon  was  luxuriously  fitted  up  with 
sofas,  rocking-chairs,  tables,  and  mirrors,  and  stretched 
from  end  to  end  of  the  vessel,  under  the  upper  deck,  for 
the  convenience  and  enjoyment  of  the  better-paying 
passengers.  The  berths  were  in  closets  at  the  sides — 
some  for  families,  and  some  for  individuals.  In  the 
middle,  encased  in  glass,  through  which  its  bright 
working  parts  might  be  seen,  was  the  engine,  with  its 
rising  and  falling  beams,  all  in  the  cleanest  and  purest 
condition.  In  front  of  this  was  a  brass-railed  spiral 
staircase,  leading  down  to  the  refectory,  or  eating 
cabin ;  while  right  and  left  of  the  saloon  were  common 
wash-rooms  for  the  passengers,  with  pro  bono  publico 
towels,  hair-brushes,  and  combs :  one  of  each  of  the 
last-named  articles  serving  for  all  who  enter  the  wash- 
room. In  the  fore-part  of  the  saloon  was  the  bar  for 
the  sale  of  drams,  American  cordials,  and  tobacco. 
Below  was  a  huge  deck  (that  seemed  almost  level  with 
the  water),  crowded  with  emigrants,  furniture,  heavy 


r^ 


I     - 


■k 


\ 


li  \ 


i  I 


300 


^  \ 


THE  MISSISSIPPI,  AND  THE  FAR  WEST. 


goods,  and  firev/ood ;  while  in  the  middle  was  burning 
the  great  engine-fire,  and  around  it,  shining  with  pro- 
fuse perspiration,  were  some  big  black  men  constantly 
throwing  logs  of  wood  and  lumps  of  resin  upon  it  to 
make  it  burn  fiercely. 

The  company  in  the  saloon  was  of  all  kinds.  The 
people  seemed  to  be  of  several  nations ;  and  some  of 
them  were  most  uninviting  in  their  aspect.  Several  of 
the  men  had  dark-lantern  looking  faces,  with  hollow 
cheeks,  deeply  sunken  eyes,  long  hair,  and  grisly  un- 
shaven faces;  others  had  a  bilious  or  aguish  look. 
Now  and  then,  from  under  the  waistcoats  of  some  of 
them,  or  out  at  their  pockets,  might  be  seen  obtruding 
the  handle  of  a  bowie-knife  or  a  revolver.  Some  of 
them  looked  like  "  border-ruffians,"  or  slave-dealers,  if 
they  were  not  such ;  and  as  we  had  the  Slave  State  of 
Missouri  on  the  left  of  us,  we  were  ready  to  conclude 
that  some  of  them  were  really  of  this  character.  They 
lounged,  whittled  pieces  of  sticks,  and  balanced  them- 
selves on  broken -legged  chairs  and  lame  stools,  when 
upon  deck,  and  in  the  evening  cast  off  their  coats, 
waistcoats,  and  shoes,  and  danced  with  ladies  in  full 
dress  until  near  midnight.  We  retired  to  our  berth, 
but  not  to  sleep,  though  we  had  been  travelling  all  the 
night  before,  for  our  berth  was  next  to  the  bar,  and  the 
gathering  and  loud  talking  at  it,  as  well  as  the  sound  of 
music  and  dancing  until  far  into  the  night,  kept  us 
awake. 

We  were  obliged  to  go  into  the  common  washing- 
room  when  we  rose  in  the  morning,  for  there  was  no 
provision  whatever  for  our  ablutions  in  our  berth ;  and 
we  were  glad  that  jve  could  take  with  us  into  the 
washing-room  our  own  combs  and  brushes,  if  we  could 


THE   MISSISSIPPI,   AND   THE   FAR  WEST. 


301 


not  obtain  towels  and  water-glasses  for  ourselves.  In 
this  room  tLere  was  a  barber,  who  shaved  any  who 
were  disposed,  for  fourpence,  placing  them  on  a  high 
seat,  with  their  feet  on  a  resting-block  as  high  as  their 
chins,  as  if  they  were  going  to  have  a  surgical  operation 
performed  upon  them.  I  submitted  to  this  mode  of 
treatment  for  once,  but  was  glad  when  I  passed  from 
under  the  hands  of  the  Western  barber.  Our  meals 
were  very  unsatisfactory,  for  our  companions,  as  usual, 
clutched  first  at  seats,  and  then  at  meats,  until  we  could 
hardly  find  room  or  food ;  and  unchanged  plates  and 
knives  at  table  did  not  increase  our  relish  for  eating. 
Unfortunately,  too,  our  drinking-water  was  not  clear 
and  good,  as  it  had  uniformly  been  before  in  our 
travelling,  but  was  the  thick  muddy  water  of  the  river, 
drawn  up  for  use  as  the  steamer  sped  along. 

The  following  day  was  principally  spent  on  the  fore- 
part of  the  upper  deck,  viewing  the  river  and  its  vary- 
ing and  beautiful  scenery,  though,  in  remaining  in  that 
part  of  the  vessel,  we  suffered  no  small  inconvenience, 
at  times,  from  the  large  wood  sparks,  which  issued  in 
shoals  from  the  two  huge  black  chimneys  of  the 
steamer.  I  sketched,  hastily,  passing  memoranda  of 
the  river  at  several  points,  with  its  islands,  bends,  and 
skirting  foliage,  so  that  I  might  have,  by  minute  obser- 
vation of  its  forms,  its  character  and  associations  fully 
stamped  on  my  memory.  In  some  parts  it  was  beauti- 
fully placid  and  calm,  spreading  itself  out  over  miles  on 
the  right  and  left,  as  if  in  bays  or  lakes.  In  other  parts 
it  was  pent  up  in  a  narrow  channel,  where  it  boiled 
furiously,  and  tore  away  at  its  sides  large  masses  of  soil 
with  their  falling  trees,  and  formed  these  trees  into  the 
most  dangerous  obstacles  of  navigation  on  the  Missis- 


r 

i 


I, 


:l 


\ ', 


302 


THE  MISSISSIPPI,  AND  THE   FAR  WEST. 


sippi,  by  fixing  them  with  their  roots  in  the  bottom  of 
the  river,  and  their  tops  and  forked  branches  just  under 
the  surface,  ready  to  damage  the  hulls  of  ascending  or 
descending  vessels.  These  impediments  to  navigation 
are  called,  in  Western  phraseology,  "  snags"  and  "  saw- 
yers." The  quantity  of  floating  logs  and  driftwood  in 
some  parts  of  the  river  was  amazing. 

On  the  river-banks  were  to  be  seen,  every  few  miles, 
log-cabins,  belonging  to  squatting  woodcutters,  with 
long  piles  of  timber  cut  into  short  lengths,  and  laid 
ready  for  sale  and  exportation.  Nearly  all  the  fuel  of 
this  region  is  of  wood,  and  it  is  a  large  article  of  com- 
merce on  the  borders  of  the  Mississippi.  Our  steamboat 
stopped  at  several  points  to  replenish  its  fuel  from  these 
stores.  Some  of  the  woodcutters'  cabins  are  very  for- 
lorn and  desolate  in  their  appearance,  being  in  the 
midst  of  swamps  formed  by  the  overflowing  of  the 
stream;  and  the  men  and  women,  separated  as  they 
are  from  society,  sink  into  coarsen  prs,  until  they  look 
like  uncivilised  creatures.  I  am  told  it  is  no  uncommon 
thing  for  men,  when  driven  from  general  society  for 
crime,  to  fix  their  dwellings  in  these  wild  spots,  not 
caring  for  any  other  title  to  their  lands  than  the  rifle  or 
the  revolver. 

There  are,  however,  some  good  rising  towns  on  the 
banks  of  the  river,  among  which  mtiy  be  named  Alton, 
Louisiana,  and  Hannibal,  as  lying  in  our  course.  We 
saw  also  as  we  passed  along  large  floating  rafts  of  timber, 
such  as  are  common  on  the  Rhine,  bearing  upon  them  men 
and  women,  wbu  were  lodged  in  temporary  huts  in  the 
centres  of  them,  and  steered  them  down  in  the  current  of 
the  river  for  the  towns  and  cities  below.  As  we  sat  and 
viewed  the  scenery  on  our  way,  we  thought  of  the  slaves 


THK  MISSISSIPPI,  AND  THE  FAR  WEST.  303 

on  our  left  hand  hiding  themselves  in  the  cane-brakes 
and  trees  till  they  can  escape  across  the  water  to  the  free 
State  of  Illinois,  and  of  the  poor  Indians  who  have  been 
driven  into  western  seclusion  by  the  Government.  The 
day  was  exceedingly  hot,  and  the  sun  scorched  and  blis- 
tered us  with  its  heat ;  but  we  could  not  forego  the  sight 
of  this  solemn  and  beautiful  scenery,  and  except  during 
the  intervals  of  meals,  we  sat  on  the  uncovered  deck 
through  the  day.  In  the  evening  the  same  glowing  sunset 
and  the  same  burning  appearance  of  the  moon  were  seen 
as  on  the  evening  before.  The  whole  panorama  was  dyed 
in  orange  and  crimson,  and  when  the  sun  had  gone 
dovm,  the  eflfects  of  objects  upon  the  water  and  by  the 
river-side  were  very  striking.  The  moon  glared  behind 
us  like  a  huge  globe  of  fire,  and  streamed  its  red  light 
upon  the  water,  making  i*8  reflection  appear  like  a 
pathway  of  blood.  The  steamboats  that  we  met,  with 
their  funnels  issuing  ceaseless  showers  of  large  sparks, 
seemed  like  living  monsters  with  open  throats  of  flame 
snorting  fire  from  their  blackened  and  upturned  nostrils, 
while  the  horrid  screeching  of  the  vessels,  by  way  of 
warning  signals  as  they  approached  and  passed,  strength- 
ened this  imagination. 

Then,  at  intervals,  the  lights  of  rising  towns  on  the 
banks  sparkled  in  the  distance  before  us,  and  reflected 
their  burning  points  deeply  down  in  the  water,  while 
watch  and  signal-fires,  in  high  stilted  cauldron-like 
grates,  blazed  on  their  quays  and  piers.  As  we  passed 
the  islands  and  swamps,  we  heard  the  croaking  of 
monster  bull-frogs  mingled  with  the  cries  of  disturbed 
and  afirighted  birds.  We  gazed  upon  and  listened 
musingly  to  these  strange  sights  and  sounds  until  nearly 
eleven  o'clock,  when  the  signal-fire  of  Quincy  made 


apMa 


, 


304 


THE  MISSISSIPPI,  AND  THE  FAR  WEST. 


known  to  us  that  our  landing-place  was  near,  and  we 
must  prepare  to  disembark,  after  having  steamed  up  thu 
Mississippi,  in  thirty  hours,  nearly  200  miles. 

We  landed  on  the  sloping  embankment,  and  drove  up, 
at  the  recommendation  of  an  English  mechanic  (who 
told  us  that,  as  a  coachmakers'  smith,  he  earned  four 
dollars  per  day),  to  the  "Virginia"  Hotel,  to  pass  the 
night.  But  our  countryman,  we  hope  unwittingly,  had 
misled  us.  The  room  allotted  to  us  was  loathsomely 
filthy  and  comfortless,  with  broken  window,  broken  fur- 
niture, broken  utensils,  and  with  hard  straw  half-covered 
beds ;  so  that  we  did  not  pass  a  very  easy  night,  but  we 
thought  and  said  that  many  good  men  had  been  worse 
lodged  than  we  were,  and,  needing  rest,  we  made  the 
best  of  our  circumstances,  and  in  partial  undress  soon 
fell  asleep. 


\ 


'm 


LETTER  XVIII. 


PRAIRIE  LAND,  CHICAGO,  DETROIT,  AND  THE  GREAT  LAKES. 


Departure  from  Quiiicy — The  Prnirie — Prairie  Pircs — Riclinrss  of  Prairie 
Soil — Destruction  of  Cattle  on  Anierieati  Haiiways — "Off  the  Line" — 
General  Tom  Thumb — Neighbourhood  of  Naiivoo — Thouglits  on  ]Mor- 
monism — Its  Future  in  the  States — ('hicago — Amazing  llnpidiiy  of  its 
Growth — Meeting  with  Prieuda — Drive  round  the  City — ^Magical  haste 
with  which  People  get  Rich  in  Chicago — Paniily  I'arly — Tiie  Lady's 
Question — Dci)ariure  from  Chicago — Arrival  at  Detroit — Sabbath  wpent 
there — Account  of  Churches  and  Services — Voyage  to  Hull'alo — The  Great 
Lakes  of  America — Sketch  of  Buffalo  City — Arrival  at  Niagui'a. 


"VYe  rose  early  on  Thursday  morning,  May  22nd,  to  leave 
Quincy  by  the  railway  for  Chicago.  At  breakfast  we 
had  a  goodly  number  of  companions,  several  of  whom 
appeared  to  be  Western  traders.  Our  meal  was  some- 
what coarse  and  uninviting,  but,  with  iced  milk  and 
bread-and-butter,  we  have  never  felt  ourselves  at  a  loss 
for  a  satisfactory  morning  or  evening  meal  while  in 
America.  Through  the  stolid  indifference  of  our  host, 
we  were  in  danger  of  being  left  a  whole  day  at  Quincy 
— the  vehicle  for  conveying  us  and  our  luggage  to  the 
railway  not  having  been  provided  for  us  until  a  few 
moments  before  the  starting  of  the  train.  We  had 
made  the  best  use  of  our  morning  hour  for  glancing 
over  the  town.     Quincy  is  situated  on  an  elevation  of 


\  t 


306 


rnAIUIE   LAND,   CIIICAOO.   DETUOIT,   ETC. 


i. 


125  feet  ubovo  the  ^Ussissippi,  and  coinmaiuU  a  fino 
view  of  tlio  river  and  of  the  surrounding  country.  It 
appears  to  bo  a  town  of  eonsidorablo  trade,  with  some 
good  buildings,  ehiefly  of  wood,  and  is  suid  to  have  a 
population  of  more  than  9000.  The  railway  torniinua 
is  not  yet  completed,  being  at  present  without  suitable 
rooms  and  booking-ofhces.  After  a  hard  and  jolting 
drive  in  our  hastily-provided  vehicle,  we  reached  tho 
carriages,  deposited  our  luggage  in  tho  van,  and  started  , 
at  7  A.^r.  for  Chicago. 

Our  road  lay  over  forest  and  prairie  land.  Towns  in 
process  of  formation  wore  seen  at  distant  intervals.  Some 
of  the  prairie  wildernesses  over  which  we  passed  were 
exceedingly  impressive.  They  extend  for  scores  and 
scores  of  miles  unbroken  bj'  any  trees  or  hills,  or,  indeed, 
by  any  other  object  tlian  tho  lino  of  railway  which 
passes  through  them.  All  round  to  tho  horizon,  on 
every  side,  is  prairie — j^rairie,  just  as  in  the  middle  of 
tho  Atlantic  all  round  is  sea — sea.  The  grass  has  not 
yet  attained  its  full  height,  but  it  is  more  than  breast 
high,  and  rolls  before  tho  wind  in  billows  or  undulating 
forms,  such  as  reveal  to  us  tho  meaning  of  tho  epithet 
often  given  to  the  prairie  lands — that  of  the  "  land 
ocean."  These  immense  plains  of  heaving  grass  are 
richly  enamelled  with  large,  beautiful  flowers,  that  grow 
in  clusters  or  patches  of  white,  red,  yellow,  lilac,  and 
blvie. 

We  could  see  here  and  there  in  our  course  what  deso- 
lation had  been  made  in  the  high  grass  of  the  prairies 
by  fires  in  it,  occasioned  by  the, large  blazing  wood- 
sparks  which  lly  in  shoals  from  the  engine-chimney  as 
it  rushes  along  with  its  train.  In  some  parts  there 
are  black  gaps  of  miles  in  circumference  which  have 


rRATUlE   LAND,   CIIICAflO,   DETROIT,  ETC. 


307 


bocn  made  by  this  means.  Wo  aro  told  that  tho  confla- 
grations in  tho  prairio- grass,  through  lightning  or 
other  modes  of  combustion,  aro  most  fearfully  sublime 
and  destructive.  When  its  high-waving  stalks  are  set 
on  fire,  tho  flame  rushes  on  with  tho  wind  at  the  rate  of 
five  miles  an  hour  or  more,  consuming  all  in  its  course, 
and  destroying  beasts,  reptiles,  birds,  and  even  men, 
that  may  bo  sheltering  in  or  travelling  tlirough  it. 
The  prairie-fire,  with  tho  huge  black  cloud  of  smoke 
which  accompanies  it,  seems  to  be  as  swift  and  fatal  as 
tho  simoom  is  in  tho  Arabian  or  African  desert,  and  is 
much  dreaded  by  all  living  creatures.  "When  seen  or 
scented  at  a  distance,  beasts — buffaloes,  wolves,  and  wild 
horses — dash  through  the  grass  with  furious  8i)eed  to 
escape  from  it  if  possible ;  while  a  company  of  men 
unmounted  have  no  chance  of  saving  their  lives  but  by 
burning  a  large  clear  space  around  them,  and  then 
prostrating  themselves  flat  on  their  faces  until  the 
prairie-fire  has  leaped  over  them.  Some  very  exciting 
stories  hav»^  been  told  me  of  these  prairie- fires,  such  as 
wouUi  form  delicious  food  for  excited  ears  on  1  jng  winter 
ni'^'hts  under  the  ancient  chimney  nooks  of  old-fashioned 
Lincolnshire. 

Where  tho  prairie  lands  are  broken  for  cultivation, 
the  pastures  appeared  to  be  very  rich  indeed.  Large 
numbers  of  cattle,  tended  by  long- limbed  boys  on  horse- 
back, were  seen  feeding,  or  gambolling  and  galloping  to 
and  fro.  Indian  corn-stalks  were  standing  to  rot  and 
fail  upon  the  soil,  not  being  ^n  orth  the  labour  of  cutting 
and  gathering ;  and  wooden  frames  and  houses  were  seen 
rising  in  diflferent  localities  on  grass  land  (with  the  names 
of  stores  and  streets  upon  them),  where,  in  a  short  time, 
will  be  found  important  towns  and  cities.    Tho  more  fre- 


tl 


iilliifeMtah 


308 


V   \ 


PRAIRIE   LAND,   CHICAGO,   DETROIT,   ETC. 


quented  thoroughfares  of  these  skeleton  streets  and 
buildings  were  deeply  ploughed  into  ruts  by  the  wheels 
of  vehicles  which  had  passed  over  them,  and  were  it  not 
that  the  soil  is  light  and  sandy  in  character,  though  dark 
in  colour,  the  roads  would  seem  to  be  almost  impassable. 
Many  of  the  houses  seemed  to  be  neatly  furnished,  and 
displayed  cleanliness  in  their  window-blinds  and  bed- 
coverings.  The  women,  too,  who  stood  at  the  open  doors 
to  gaze  at  the  train  as  it  passed,  were  trimly  dressed,  and 
looked  very  much  like  what  may  be  seen  at  the  doors  of 
middle-class  houses  in  English  small  towns  and  villages 
in  summer  time.  The  stores  appeared  to  contain  more 
of  the  necessaries  of  life  than  of  its  luxuries,  and  were 
made  known  by  large  lettered  signboards  outside,  rather 
than  by  display  in  the  windows.  The  men  were  tall, 
and  looked  rough  and  earnest.  They  ride  and  drive 
horses  long-limbed  and  as  full  of  energy  as  themselves, 
like  American  traders  generally.  They  seem  every- 
where and  at  all  times  in  haste,  and  one  would  think,  as 
one  looked  upon  them  with  their  grisly  unshaven  chins, 
strong  clothing,  high  over-boots,  and  hurried  move- 
ments, that  they  were  afraid  of  not  obtaining  the  for- 
tunes they  desired  out  of  the  lands  on  which  they  had 
settled,  before  the  crowds  of  coming  emigrants  should 
arrive  to  share  with  them  in  their  "Western  possessions. 
There  is,  however,  in  nearly  all  the  persons  we  have  seen 
on  this  line,  whether  in  the  embryo  towns  by  its  side,  or 
within  railway-cars,  a  thriving,  well-to-do  appearance, 
which  has  led  us  to  conclude  that  they  had  made  a  good 
selection  of  locality  for  settlements.  Guide-books  here 
are  but  of  little  use  to  travellers.  To  be  reallv  service- 
able,  they  ought  to  be  published  every  month,  as  Brad- 
shaw's  Eailway  Guides  are  in  England. 


'/ 


PRAIRIE   LAND,   CHICAGO,   DETROIT,   ETC. 


309 


This  railway,  like  the  others  on  which  we  have 
travelled  in  America,  in  most  parts  is  iinfenced  off  from 
the  adjoining  lands,  and  cattle  may  be  seen  a-head  in. 
droves,  standing  or  lying  across  the  rails.  To  scare 
them  away,  a  most  horrid  screech-horn  is  blown  by  the 
engine ;  but  sometimes  the  oxen  will  not  move,  or,  if 
they  move,  it  is  so  slowly  that  the  engine-driver  ha««  to 
stop  the  train,  and  either  he  or  his  man  leap  down  and 
drive  the  beasts  away.  The  thousands  of  cattle  run  over 
and  destroyed  annually  upon  this  railway  is  almost 
incredible.  On  our  way  we  ran  off  the  rails,  and  that 
on  a  somewhat  rude  embankment,  and  over  soft  boggy 
land. ,  But  the  officials  seemed  fully  prepared  for  such 
an  ordinary  mishap,  and,  by  a  species  of  wooden  fulcra 
and  levers,  they  succeeded  in  less  than  an  hour  in  getting 
us  back  upon  the  rails,  and  again  we  sped  along.  The 
railways  in  this  part  are  rough  and  jolting.  They 
appear  as  if  they  had  been  made  for  only  temporary  use 
— the  iron  rails  are  laid  over  sleepers  which  are  very 
irregular  both  in  thickness  and  length,  while  little  or 
no  attention  seems  paid  to  the  levelling  between  them, 
or  about  the  rails.  And  here,  as  in  nearly  all  other 
parts  of  America,  the  traveller  may  see  by  the  roadside, 
or  crossing  the  land  for  a  shorter  course,  the  telegraph- 
wire  supported  by  rough,  tall  posts,  and  at  points  he 
may  read  on  a  rudely-constructed  guide-board  perhaps 
"  300  miles  "  to  some  city  of  importance. 

In  this  Western  part  of  the  world,  as  elsewhere,  we 
found  that  the  sublime  and  the  ridiculous  are  often  near 
neighbours,  or  that  the  one  comes  often  close  at  the 
heels  of  the  other.  We  were  bounding  over  the  rich 
and  immense  plains  of  waving  prairie  land,  and  were 
full  of  solemn  thoughts  on  the  strange  panorama,  and 


'TSsaaatmmfmm.iJHmmmmrrKr&f!. 


tmmm 


iH  urTiiiriiiii 


\  \ 


310 


PRAIRIE   LAND,   CHICAGO,   DETROIT,   ETC. 


on  the  great  future  for  these  regions,  when,  on  stopping 
at  the  rude  station  of  a  newly-risen  town,  who  should 
enter  our  car  and  take  his  seat  near  to  us  but  "  General 
Tom  Thumb ! "  He  looks  older,  less  childlike,  and 
more  jaded  and  worn  than  when  he  was  exhibited  to 
such  crowds  in  England.  He  does  not  seem  to  have 
grown  much.  He  was  dressed  in  blue  clothes  of  the 
ordinary  shape,  ornamented  with  gilded  buttons,  and 
with  a  somewhat  tall  hat  upon  his  head.  He  looked 
more  like  a  dwarf  than  he  did  when  in  our  country.  He 
lounged,  stretched  his  short  length  upon  the  seat,  slept, 
walked  to  and  fro,  and  spoke  with  the  assumed  airs  of  a 
full-grown  man,  but  it  was  evident  that  in  mental 
capacity  he  was  still  a  mere  child. 

When  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Quincy,  both  on  the 
river  and  on  the  rail,  we  could  not  but  think  and  speak 
together  upon  the  Mormons,  for  we  were  there  nigh  to 
the  locality  in  which  they  made  their  first  Western 
settlement — Nauvoo,  or  "  The  Beautiful,"  as  it  was  named 
by  them.  It  was  about  fifty  miles  from  Quincy,  on  the 
eastern  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  and  was,  consequently, 
on  our  left  hand  when  we  were  on  the  railway  from 
Quincy  to  Chicago.  Nauvoo  is  now  in  ruins,  as  a  place 
that  has  been  deserted  by  its  people,  and  destroyed  by 
its  invaders ;  but  its  large  temple,  built  of  polished  lime- 
stone to  accommodate  3000  persons,  may  still  be  dis- 
tinctly seen  standing,  as  if  in  monumental  mockery  of 
its  infatuated  and  impious  builders.  While  steaming  up 
the  solitude  of  the  great  river,  on  the  evening  that  we 
drew  near  to  Quincy,  with  the  knowledge  that  the 
remains  of  the  Mormon  city  were  not  distant,  and  in 
the  direction  to  which  our  faces  were  turned,  it  was 
impossible  not  to  reflect  upon  the  deeds  of  Joe  Smith 


PRAIRIE   LAND,  CHICAGO,   DETROIT,   ETJ. 


311 


and  his  designing  company  a  few  years  ago   in   that 
region  ;    and  then,  after  thinking  of  the  blasphemous 
pretensions,  the  gross  indulgencies,  and  the  unwarrant- 
able expectations  of  the  Mormon  prophet  and  his  suc- 
cessors, we  had  only  to  turn  to  the  left,  and  think  of 
the  region  of  Utah  and  its  Salt  Lake  City,  where  so 
many  thousands  of  deluded  beings  are  settled  under  a 
system  which  is  the  most  revolting,  as  well  as  the  most 
astounding,  of  any  that  has  appeared  among  men.     To 
think  that  a  scheme  of  such  gross  falsehood,  sensuality, 
and  despotism — a   scheme   which,  on   the   basis   of  a 
clumsy  fraud,  represents    God   in   the  Trinity  of  the 
Divine  Persons  as  material,  which  makes  pretensions  to 
miracles,  and  which  authorises  an  unbridled  licentious- 
ness, should  now  number  among  its  converts  in  England 
30,000  souls,  and  should  have  emigrating  to  its  Sodom, 
in  the  Salt  Lake  valley,  thousands  yearly,  many  of  them 
not  of  the  lowest  classes,  but  farmers,  mechanics,  and 
clerks,  with  their  wives,  mothers  and  daughters,  brothers 
and  sisters — this  is,  undoubtedly,  the  most  humiliating 
fact  that  an  English  traveller  in  the  Western  world  can 
possibly  contemplate.     I  am  informed  that  the  scenes 
beheld  among  the  emigrants  to  this  land  of  blasphemy 
and  vice  are  often  most  appalling.     We  have  been  in 
their  great  highways  of  passage  to  the  City  of  the  Salt 
Lake,  and  have  heard  lamentable  accounts  of  the  deplo- 
rable and  broken-hearted  condition  into  which  many  of 
the  poor  deluded  parties  are  plunged  by  the  time  they 
arrive  on  the  borders  of  the  West.     They  are  worn  and 
haggard,  ragged  and  wretched,  having  exhausted  their 
means  and  become  awake  to  the  folly  and  sinfulness  of 
their  undertaking.     They  generally  travel  in  caravans, 
or  companies,  from  this  part  to  the  Far  West,  and  the 


****"™  ■■^■■.>-#-,»t.i^»»*»«-»-^  »■■*». 


„':!■  ;r:::  ja*vtx:;;-«&STCJa»«h..i.-. — -♦.., 


312 


PRAIRIE   LAND,   CHICAGO,   DETROIT,   ETC. 


1 


white  settlers,  as  well  as  the  revengeful  Indians  through 
whose  regions  they  have  to  pass,  hold  them  in  the 
strongest  abhorrence.  With  thoughtful  persons  in  the 
States,  a  serious  question  has  been  ponder'^d  concerning 
the  admission  of  such  a  communion  of  profligate  persons 
into  the  Federal  Union  when  they  shall  become  numerous 
enough,  as  they  soon  will,  to  claim  'x  formal  position 
among  the  recognised  States,  and  to  have  their  senators 
and  representatives  in  the  Congress.  Already,  indted, 
the  Mormon  district  of  Utah  has  been  inaugurated  ai.  i 
"  territory,  '  and  has  its  representative  without  a  vote; 
and  the  president  now  appoints  its  principal  officers,  of 
governor,  judges,  marshals,  &c.  But  when  the  time  for 
its  full  reception  into  the  Union  as  a  "  State"  shall  come, 
its  deeply  immoral  laws  and  irreligious  principles  must 
be  freely  and  searchi"gly  investigated ;  and  then,  remem- 
bering the  spirit  of  defiance  and  insubmission  which 
Mormonism  has  manifested  in  the  past,  it  is  expected 
that  it  will  come  into  direct  and  desperate  collision  with 
the  authorities  of  the  Union  rather  than  give  up  its 
intolerance  and  its  polygamy,  or  open  its  territory  to 
settlers  from  all  parts  of  the  earth.  For  a  time,  the 
struggle  with  such  an  infatuated  and  evil-principled[ 
multitude  may  be  dreadful,  but,  in  the  end,  the  general 
laws  of  the  States  muse  prevail  over  the  so-called 
"  priestly  "  domination  of  Utah. 

On  arriving  at  Chicago,  about  seven  o'clock  in  the 
evening,  we  found  ourselves  in  a  city  which,  perhaps 
more  than  any  other,  impresses  the  mind  with  astonish- 
ment at  the  rapid  advance  of  the  western  parts  of  Ame- 
rica. Thirty  years  ago  a  solitary  log-cabin  for  Govern- 
ment stood  here  at  the  head  of  Lake  Michigan  :  now  it 
is  a  city  which  contains  nearly  100,000  inhabitants, 


PRAIRIE   LAND,   CHICAGO,   DETROIT,   ETC.  313 

with  its  streets,  stores,  warehouses,  railways,  shipping, 
and  all  kinds  of  trade.  And  from  the  very  first  glance 
one  takes  at  its  situation,  and  its  widely-scattered  build- 
ing-plots, it  IS  evident  that  Chicago  is  only  in  its 
infancy,  and  must  eventually  become  a  monster  city. 
It  stands  adjoining  the  great  lake  region  of  the  north- 
west, and  is  in  communication  with  the  immense  corn- 
growing  districts  east  and  y.est  of  the  Mississippi, 
while  it  has  direct  means  of  transit  both  to  the  Eastern 
States  and  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  It  is,  in  fact,  and  must 
continue  to  be,  the  great  store  city  of  the  north-west 
of  America,  holding  trade  and  commerce  in  articles  of 
food  and  clothing  not  only  with  other  parts  of  the 
Union,  but  also  with  England  and  with  other  nations  of 
Europe. 

On  arriving  at  the  railway  terminus  we  were  assailed 
by  a  crowd  of  "touters,"  or  runners,  from  different 
hotels  and  boarding-houses ;  but  we  had  previously  fixed 
upon  the  Fremont  Hotel  for  our  abode  while  we  should 
remain  in  Chicago,  and  so  we  pressed  through  the 
shouting  crowd,  and  drove  away  for  our  lodging  as 
quickly  as  possible.  The  Fremont  is  a  huge  hotel, 
and  is  crowded  with  travellers  from  many  parts  of 
the  States.  In  going  to  it  we  ^:issed,  on  bridges, 
over  the  river,  wh'^h  divides  the  city  into  three 
parts,  and  could  see,  as  we  went  along,  the  shipping, 
wharves,  and  warehouses  of  a  place  of  great  trade. 
The  large  wide  streets,  too,  were  thronged  with  people 
hurrying  to  and  fro;  while  lighted-up  stores,  restau- 
rants, public  lounges,  and  places  of  evening  amusement, 
told  of  a  ^ay  and  flourishing  city. 

Next  morning,  after  an  early  bidakfast,  we  set  out  to 
view  the  city,  ruder  the  guidance  of  the  Rev.  Thomas 


. »» ■**.<M»i«»**<»»y»-^  ,*'»'«v 


\  \ 


314 


PRAIRIE   LAND,   CHICAGO,   DETROIT,   ETC. 


; 


Williams,  formerly  of  England ;  but  first  we  went  to 
the  top  of  our  hotel,  and  took  a  bird's-eye  view  of  Chi- 
cago, tracing  it,  from  that  point  of  advantageous  sight, 
into  streets,  ri'/cr,  adjoining  lake,  and  principal  build- 
ings. We  then  proceeded  to  the  Methodist  Book  De- 
pository, to  examine  some  recent  publications.  After- 
wards, under  the  charioteer-driving  of  Mr.  Brown  of 
the  bank,  we  rode  in  a  carriage  and  pair  through  the 
principal  streets,  and  round  the  suburbs.  Very  fe\,  of 
the  streets  are  paved,  and  in  some  parts  planks  of  wood 
are  laid  down  to  drive  upon.  Everywhere  there  are 
signs  of  recent  building ;  and  the  city,  in  its  most 
crowded  parts,  seemed  almost  madly  in  earn  st  and  in 
haste  with  the  "push"  of  business. 

All  round  the  city,  except  at  the  lake,  there  is  level, 
good  prairie  land,  suited  either  for  cultivation  or  build- 
ings ;  and  a  good  part  of  it  will  soon  be  occupied.  Land 
has  risen  from  almost  rothing  to  enormous  prices,  and 
streets  and  new  building  plots  have  been  marked  and 
fenced  out  in  the  outskirts ;  while  a  large  park,  with 
mansions  and  villas,  may  bo  seen  on  the  north-east 
side  of  the  city. 

We  drove  to  the  cemetery,  and  from  thence  to  the 
railway  pier,  which  stretches  for  more  than  a  mile  over 
the  upper  end  of  the  lake,  and  forms  a  serviceable 
breakwater.  Chicago  has  now  in  communication  with 
it,  either  opened  or  in  progress,  6000  miles  of  railway  ; 
who  shall  say  what  such  a  city  may  not  become  ?  We 
found  everywhere  signs  of  plenty  and  prosperity. 
Copper  money  seemed  to  have  hardly  an  existence  in 
the  town.  If  a  news-boy  sold  you  a  newspaper  at  the 
professed  price  of  two  cents,  he  expected  you  to  give 
him  a  five  cent  silver  piece  for  it;   while  the  little 


M  fc-,.  -«W,»*t^^^  J,»*y— 


FRAIRIE   LAND,   CHICAGO,   DETROIT,   ETC, 


315 


urchin  that  ran  to  open  the  gate  for  you  would  reject 
any  copper  piece  that  might  be  offered  him,  saying,  "  I 
do  not  take  copper."  We  were  plainly  told  that,  in 
Chicago,  the  question  with  every  one  was  not  "  How 
shall  I  live  ?"  for  that  was  certain,  but  "  IIow  soon  can 
I  get  richi'"  And  accounts  were  given  us  of  the  pro- 
fitable investment  of  money,  by  which  it  doubled  itself 
with  certainty  in  three  or  four  years ;  and  numerous 
proofs  were  given  to  us  of  this  in  living  individuals 
who  had  gathered  immense  riches  within  very  short 
periods  of  time. 

Several  friends  from  England  urge  I  us  to  remain 
over  Sunday,  and  preach  to  them.  They  assured  us 
that  at  least  one  hundred  peri^ons  now  settled  in  Chi- 
cago had  known  and  heard  us  in  England.  We  felt 
deeply  intere'''^  '  in  these  friends,  but  could  not  remain. 
We  were  likewise  greatly  interested  in  Mr.  Brown,  the 
gentleman  who  drove  us  in  hu  carriage  through  and 
around  the  city.  He  is  a  very  int  Uigent,  generous, 
and  courteous  Methodist  friend,  j.  .er  our  drive  we 
dined  with  him  and  his  family  at  his  own  house.  It  is 
a  pleasant  villa  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city,  and  is  sur- 
rounded by  a  garden  and  shrubbery.  Mrs.  Brown  is 
an  intelligent,  ladylike  person ;  and  with  our  host  and 
his  wife,  their  mother  and  children,  and  our  friend 
Williams,  we  ate  as  English  a  meal,  and  passed  as 
sociable  an  afternoon  as  we  could  desire  so  many  thou- 
sand miles  from  home.  Our  friends  were  all  strong 
haters  of  Slaveiy.  Mr.  Brown  said  some  earnest  and 
rather  desperate  things  concerning  it.  He  seemed 
almost  prepared  to  fight  with  sword  and  gun  for  the 
immediate  emancipation  of  the  slaves.  He  spoke  also 
very  strongly  against  the  "Fugitive  Law,"  and  the 


V 


:J 


316 


■    \^ 


PRAIRIE   LAND,   CHICAGO,   DETROIT,   ETC. 


"  Black  Laws,"  which  prohibit  the  settlement  of  per- 
sons of  colour  in  the  "Free"  State  of  Illinois,  in  which 
we  now  are. 

One  question  asked  of  us  by  a  lady  in  Chicago  was  a 
proof,  not  only  of  the  strength  of  early  impressions,  but 
how  impossible  it  often  is  fok*  us  to  place  ourselves,  even 
in  idea,  in  a  strange  and  unexperienced  condition.  The 
lady  had  been  speaking  in  high  praise  of  England  and 
its  institutions,  when  she  suddenly  said,  **  But  there  is 
one  arrangement  concerning  which  I  must  make  some 
inquiry,  so  that  i  may,  if  possible,  be  able  to  understand 
it,  and  that  is,  how  it  is  that  you  retain  the  same  person 
as  sovereign  ruler  of  your  state  for  his  or  her  lifetime  ?" 
It  may  be  imagined  that,  although  we  looked  at  each 
other,  and  smiled,  we  were,  nevertheless,  extremely 
puzzled  to  muster  together  a  sufficient  force  of  philoso- 
phical argument  to  convince  our  fair  questioner  that  it 
was  better  to  sit  under  the  settled  rule  of  our  beloved 
Queen  for  life  than  to  exchange  her  for  a  four  years* 
president.  The  lady  was  a  native  American,  and 
could  not  be  brought,  by  any  arguments,  to  think  there 
was  real  excellency  in  any  monarchial  rule.  We  did 
not  wish,  indeed,  in  the  circumstances,  to  enter  upon  an 
elaborate  argument  on  the  subject — not  that  we  think 
our  monarchial  government  indefensible,  but  we  felt 
that  the  attempt  to  convince  her  was  hopeless,  and  so 
got  out  of  the  challenge  as  politely  as  possible. 

There  are  numerous  churches  in  Chicago,  and  among 
them  the  Methodist  churches  are  conspicuous.  I  found 
that  our  book  on  Chapel  and  School  Architecture  was  in 
use  by  Methodist  friends  here,  as  well  as  in  other  parts 
of  the  States.  There  are  some  good  schools  and  public 
buildings.     It  is  near  to  this  city,  at  Evanston,  that  the 


PRAIRIE   LAND,  CHICAGO,   DETROIT,   ETC. 


317 


re  was  in 


"  Garrett  Biblical  Institute  for  the  education  of  candi- 
dates for  the  Methodist  ministry**  is  to  be  established. 
It  appears  that  it  is  the  munificent  bequest  of  a  lady 
which  has  provided  for  the  support  of  the  intended 
institution.  Her  husband  died  after  willing  away 
almost  the  whole  of  his  large  property  from  her.  By 
a  law  of  the  State,  a  widow,  if  not  satisfactorily 
provided  for,  can  claim  one-third  of  her  deceased  hus- 
bauQ  s  estate.  She  made  her  claim,  and  had  land 
awarded  her  for  her  portion  in  and  about  Chicago. 
This  land  has  since  increased  so  much  in  value,  that 
what  she  has  left  of  it  for  the  support  of  this  establish- 
ment will  bring  in  an  immense  yearly  sum.  One  con- 
dition of  the  bequest  is,  that  no  part  of  the  money  shall 
be  spent  on  buildings.  Thrs  is  not  uncommon  with 
bequests  in  the  States,  and  it  often  secures  the  property 
left  from  diminution  by  wasteful  expenditure. 

On  Saturday  morning,  the  24th  of  May,  we  left  Chi- 
cago for  Detroit  by  the  "Lightning  Express"  train. 
Our  friend  Mr.  Williams  informed  the  manager  of  the 
railway  who  we  were,  and  the  manager  \  ary  generously 
gave  us  free  passes  along  the  line.  At  first  we  hardly 
were  satisfied  with  this.  As  English  travellers,  we  did 
not  wish  to  have  our  independence  interfered  with,  and 
we  would  rather  have  paid  our  fare  than  be  placed 
under  obligation  by  a  special  favour  from  a  stranger. 
But  when  we  were  assured  that  it  was  no  uncommon 
act  towards  strangers  and  ministers,  whom  they  desired 
to  publicly  honour,  we  "  pocketed  the  aflPront,"  as 
we  say  in  England,  and  rode  free  of  all  charges  for 
282  miles.  Our  course  was  ciiiefly  through  forest  land, 
with  here  and  there  clearings,  and  peeps,  through 
openings  among  trees,  into  the  Lake  Michigan.     We 


■MUM 


>  (i 


318 


PRAIRIE   LAND,   CIFICAaO,   DETROIT,   ETC. 


saw  many  a  creek  and  bay  on  our  left  hand,  whero 
Indian  canoes,  a  few  years  ago,  undoubtedly  entered 
and  were  lodged ;  indeed,  the  signs  of  Indian  residence 
in  that  part  were  distinct  and  certain.  Several  of  the 
places  through  which  we  passed  bore  Indian  names — 
such  as  Dowagiac,  Taw-l'uw,  Kalamazoo,  &c.  We  saw 
also,  at  the  stations  on  the  road,  civilised  Indians  in 
European  clothing,  mingling  and  conversing  freely 
with  the  white  settlers  ;  and,  in  several  instances  on  the 
way,  we  saw  proof,  in  complexion,  eyes,  and  hair,  of 
intermarriages  of  whites  and  Indians. 

We  had  another  breakdown  stoppage,  through  our 
"Lightning  Express"  train  running  off  the  rails;  but 
we  were  soon  "  all  right"  again,  and  on  we  went.  Some 
coloured  youths  came  into  our  car,  and  were  quite  cheer- 
ful and  merry  together,  laughing  and  jabbering,  and 
showing  their  even  rows  of  pearl-white  teeth,  in  free 
style.  This  was  pleasing  to  us.  It  was  a  sign,  not  only 
that  Micliigan,  into  which  we  liad  now  come,  is  a  free 
State,  but  also  that  in  this  quarter  prejudice  against  the 
poor  negro  race  is  not  so  strong  as  in  some  others.  The 
day  was  very  hot  and  sultry ;  we  drank  freely  at  the 
water-can,  and  were  thankful  for  apples  and  oranges  sold 
to  us  by  boys,  who,  at  the  successive  stations,  came  into 
the  cars  with  baskets  full  of  cakes  and  fruit.  The  dust, 
too,  gathered  thickly  upon  us.  But  by  seven  o'clock  in 
the  evening  we  reached  Detrcjit,  and  drove  as  quickly 
as  possible  to  the  Biddle  Hotel.  We  obtained  very 
comfortable  bedrooms  adjoining  each  other;  and  after 
plentiful  ablutions  and  our  evening  meal,  we  walked 
out  to  see  what  we  could,  by  lamp-light,  of  the  city. 
Of  course  we  could  not  see  much  of  it  at  that  time  of 
day,  but  we  learned  the  general  character  and  plan  of 


I'llAIRIE  LAND,   CHICAGO,  DETUOIT,   ETC. 


319 


the  town,  and  saw  what  was  its  general  aspect  as  a  place 
of  trade  and  merchandise. 

Detroit,  as  its  name  shows,  was  originally  a  French 
settlement.     It  was  so  as  early  us  the  year  IGIO,  and  it 
still,  by  the  names,  countenances,  and  manners  of  many 
of  its  people,  bears  undoubted  marks  of  its  origin.    The 
city  is  situated  on  the  southern  bank  of  the  river  De- 
troit,  and    is   seven  miles   from   liake  8t.  Clair,  and 
eighteen  from  Lake  Erie.     It  is  a  large,  well-built  city, 
having  a  very  wide  street  about  a  mile  and  a  half  long, 
running  parallel  to  the  river,  and  several  cross  streets, 
squares,  a  market-place,  &c., — extending  backwards  a 
mile  or  so  from  the  river,  and  sloping  upwards  from 
the  water  50  feet  or  more.     Detroit  contains  some  good 
public  buildings,  such  as  the  State- House,  the  City  Hall, 
and   the   Market-House.      It    has  numerous  churches, 
belonging  to  different  denominations,  several  literary 
institutions,  and  many  good  shops,  and  has  more  than 
'  40,000  inhabitants.     It  is  a  place  of  considerable  mer- 
chandise, has  its  manufactures,  is  a  great  timber  port, 
is  visited  by  nunierous  steamboats  and  water-craft  of 
various  kinds,  bears  a  high  reputation  for  ship-building, 
and,  by  its  returns  of  imports  and  exports,  shows  that 
it  is  increasingly  prosperous.     The  western  part  of  the 
principal  street  is  a  very  pleasant  promenade,  and  with 
its  plank  walks,  overshadowed  with  trees,  and  skirted 
with  good  houses  and  lovely  gardens,  is  much  frequented 
in  fine  weather. 

We  passed  the  Sabbath  in  Detroit ;  and  as  our  other 
Sabbaths  in  America  had  been  wholly  spent  among  the 
Methodists,  we  resolved,  after  a  visit  to  the  Methodist 
churches,  to  attend  on  that  day  the  services  of  other 
denominations.     Early  in  the  morning  we  went  to  the 


\  1 


320 


PRAIRIE   LAND,   CIIICAQO,  DETROIT,  ETC. 


Roman  Catholic  Cathedral,  where  we  found  a  large 
congregation,  and  heard  a  young  priest  delivering  in- 
struction to  the  children  of  the  schools  on  the  section 
of  the  Creed  relating  to  "the  Communion  of  Saints." 
His  discourse  was  intensely  popish.  He  began  by  show- 
ing how  persons  became  members  of  the  true  Church 
by  baptism  and  the  eucharist  administered  ])y  autho- 
rised hands ;  showed  how  they  then  had  communion 
with  all  the  faithful,  both  in  heaven  and  earth  ;  and  on 
this  ground  exhorted  his  audience  to  pray  earnestly  to 
angels,  and  to  select  their  patrons  and  guardians  from 
the  calendar  of  departed  saints.  Next,  we  went  to  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  which  is  a  neat  wooden 
building,  on  the  right-hand  side  of  the  great  thorough- 
fare in  which  the  Roman  Cat\olic  Cathedral  is  situated. 
Here,  also,  we  found  a  good  congregation,  and  very 
English  in  its  appearance.  After  the  Eii«?lish  Liturgy, 
somewhat  altered  and  mutilated,  we  heard  a  very  good 
sermon  against  infidelity  and  scepticism,  by  a  minis- 
ter from  Nc"'  York.  It  was  founded  on  Psalm  cxix. 
98 — 100.  In  the  afternoon  we  went  to  an  elaborately 
ornamented  Presbyterian  church,  of  Grecian  architec- 
ture, and  heard  a  good,  plain,  practical  sermon  on 
prayer  (Numbers  xi.  2),  delivered  to  a  somewhat 
fashionable  congrr^gation.  After  our  evening  meal 
we  went  to  St.  Paul's,  expecting  to  hear  the  bishop 
of  the  Protestant  Church  preach.  The  large,  hand- 
Gothic  structure,    richly    adorned,    and   cheer- 


some, 


fully  lighted  with  gas,  was  well  filled  by  a  respectable- 
looking  congregation — a  more  brilliant  and  imposing 
scene  I  never  witnessed  within  a  Protestant  church. 
The  bishop  read  the  Liturgy  in  a  manly,  effective  style, 
displaying  now  and  then  a  little  of  the  Irish  accent; 


PHAIUIE   LAND,   CIirCAGO,   DETllOIT,   ETC. 


321 


a  minis- 


but  a  clergy  man  on  a  visit  to  Detroit  preached  the 
sermon,  from  2  Peter  i.  18,  which  was  in  the  most 
popular  style  of  French  oratory,  and  was  delivered 
with  considerable  taste  and  power.  It  was  on  the 
Transfiguration  of  our  Lord.  Altogether,  we  were 
much  impressed  by  the  services  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  in  Detroit — remembering  'lat  that 
Church,  in  other  parts  of  the  States,  is  so  little  attrac- 
tive to  Americans,  that  it  is  only  in  the  third  or  fourth 
rank  among  Christian  churcl.es. 

On  Monday  morning,  at  ton  o'clock,  we  left  Detroit 
for  Niagara  Fulls,  by  a  large  sf earner  which  was  to  take 
us  through  Lake  Erie  to  liuftalo.  V\^o  des  -^  Tided  the 
river, — a  pleasant  stream  delightfully  boi  Kred  on  its 
banks  with  trees, — and,  by  one  o'clc^'',  after  pussii  -  a 
sort  of  lighthouse  and  some  other  biuldings  on  the 
extremity  of  its  western  shores,  we  found  ourselves 
fairly  on  Lake  Erie.  We  steomed  onwards  in  its  deep 
green  waters,  being  scarcely  ever  out  of  sight  of  one 
or  other  of  its  shores,  oil  of  which  were  well  wooded, 
and  reflected  their  forms  clearly  in  the  water.  Lake 
Erie  is  one  of  the  smaller  lakes,  and  yet  it  took  the 
steamer  till  five  o'clock  the  next  morning  to  reach 
Buffalo,  at  the  other  end  of  it.  Our  passage  over  it 
was  very  pleasant ;  the  aii  ^.  is  still,  the  water  smooth, 
wo  had  a  good  and  commodious  steamer,  and  the  banks 
and  trees  that  skirted  the  lake  were,  in  their  long- 
stretched  outlines,  ricii  clothing,  and  reflected  forms, 
highly  picturesque. 

These  great  American  Lakes  are  not  to  be  imagined 
as  being  similar  in  appearance  to  the  lakes  of  England, 
Scotland,  and  Ireland,  or  even  to  the  larger  lakes  of 
Switzerland.     They  are  totally  unlike  them  in  all  their 


fipinv'*" 


,/ 


322 


PRAIRIE   LAND,   CHICAGO,   DETROIT,   ETC. 


more  characteristic  features ;  and,  unless  personally 
visited,  can  be  but  imperfectly  realised  in  idea.  The 
European  notion  of  a  lake  is  that  of  an  expansive  sheet 
of  smooth  water,  locked  in  by  sheltering  mountains, 
glistening  under  the  sun  like  a  polished  mirror,  and 
over  whose  calm  bright  surface  pleasure-boats  glide  with 
their  white- winged  sails,  like  birds  asleep  in  the  sky. 
The  image  is  that  of  unconscious  loveliness,  or  beauty 
asleep  on  a  flower-bank  in  summer-time.  Hence  we 
speak  of  "  the  fair  bosom  of  the  lake."  Or,  if  we 
think  of  the  European  lake  as  stirred  by  the  breeze, 
we  imagine  it  rippled  on  its  glassy  surface  into  innu- 
merable glittering  wavelets,  that  silently  chase  each 
other  to  the  sloping  margin,  where  they  fall  languidly 
upon  the  shore,  kissing  the  pebbles  of  the  strand  as  they 
fall  in  succession,  and  making  only  a  soft  silvery  sound 
that  dies  away  from  us  like  the  music  of  a  dream. 

Very  different  is  it  with  these  great  American  Lakes ; 
they  are,  in  fact,  inland  seas,  and,  in  length,  breadth, 
and  depth,  exceed  considerably  some  of  the  renowned 
inland  seas  of  Europe,  Though  very  pleasant  and  calm 
at  times,  as  was  Lake  Erie  when  we  passed  over  it,  yet 
at  some  seasons,  and  under  certain  influences  of  the 
wind,  they  are  exceedingly  stormy  and  dangerous. 
The  wind  sweeps  down  upon  them  from  all  sides, 
disturbs  the  waters,  breaks  them  into  tumultuous 
billows,  lashes  them  into  fury,  and  renders  the  passage 
over  them  far  more  perilous  than  over  the  wide  open 
ocean ;  and,  even  in  their  calmest  moods,  being  un- 
moved by  any  ebb  and  flow  of  the  tide,  there  is  a  soli- 
tary desert-like  effect  in  the  monotonous  dead-level  of 
their  still,  green  or  blue  waters,  which,  if  not  seen,  can 
hardly  be  understood,     No  mere  study  of  engraved 


PRAIRIE  LAND,   CHICAGO,   DETROIT,   ETC. 


323 


maps  can  give  the  full  idea  of  their  extent,  and  no 
word-painting  can  effectually  convey  the  true  image 
of  their  expansive  desolateness.  It  is  estimated  that 
in  this  great  chain  of  Lakes,  extending  eastward  from 
the  north-west  point  of  the  United  States,  and,  for 
the  most  part,  forming  the  boundary  line  between  the 
States  and  Canada,  there  are  not  less  than  5000  miles' 
length  of  coast-line.  It  is  stated  that  in  the  Georgian 
Bay,  the  mere  arm  of  one  of  these  lakes  (Lake  Huron), 
there  are  not  less  than  2700  islands,  the  largest  of 
which  is  more  than  one  hundred  miles  in  length.  The 
official  returns  give  the  following  as  the  dimensions  of 
the  principal  lakes  in  this  vast  extending  chain  of 
navigable  waters : — 

Lake  Superior,  the  largest  of  all  the  lakes,  and  which 
is  situated  at  the  extreme  north-west  point  of  the  United 
States,  is  420  miles  long,  100  miles  in  average  width, 
and  is  900  feet  deep. 

Lake  Michigan,  which  extends  from  the  south-east 
point  of  Lake  Superior  to  Chicago,  is  in  length  340 
miles,  in  average  width  58  miles,  and  is  850  feet 
deep. 

Lake  Huron,  which  extends  from  the  south-east 
point  of  Lake  Superior,  and  from  the  north-east  point 
of  Lake  Michigan,  in  a  south-east  direction  towards  the 
Lakes  of  St.  Clair  and  Erie,  is  270  miles  long,  70  miles 
in  average  breadth,  and  is  950  feet  deep. 

Lake  St.  Clair  is  the  smallest  of  these  lakes,  and  is  a 
few  miles  north  of  Detroit.  It  is  eighteen  miles  from 
north  to  south,  and  twenty-five  miles  from  east  to 
west. 

Lake  Erie,  extending  eastward  from  Detroit  River^to 
Buffalo,  and  receiving  for  transmission  towards  the 


324 


PRAIRIE  LAND,  CHICAQO,  DETROIT,  ETC. 


Atlantic  the  water  of  the  four  lakes  above-named, 
is  240  miles  long,  38  miles  in  average  breadth,  and  265 
feet  deep. 

Lake  Ontario  extends  eastward  from  the  Niagara 
River,  by  which  it  is  united  with  Lake  Erie,  to  the 
Biver  St.  Lawrence,  and  is  180  miles  long,  40  miles  in 
average  width,  and  650  feet  deep. 

All  these  lakes  flow,  by  rivers,  and  straits,  and 
canals,  out  of  one  deep  basin  into  another ;  and  from 
Lake  Superior,  in  the  order  I  have  named,  transmit 
their  volumes  of  fresh  water  (drained  from  the  great 
north-west  of  the  continent)  by  the  River  St.  Lawrence, 
which  is  700  miles  long,  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean, 
making,  in  one  continued  line  of  measurement  (without 
following,  as  we  did  in  our  former  reckoning,  the  inden- 
tations of  the  shores),  more  than  2000  miles  :  the  largest 
inland  navigation  in  the  world. 

On  reaching  the  north  eastern  shore  of  Lake  Erie, 
we  found  we  were  at  the  bottom  of  the  port  and  city  of 
Buffalo.  The  pier  at  which  we  landed  is  constructed  of 
stone  and  wood,  and  has  a  lighthouse  of  yellow  lime- 
stone standing  at  its  head.  This  pier  extends  as  much 
as  1500  feet  into  the  lake,  and  serves  as  a  breakwater 
for  the  protection  of  vessels  from  the  violent  gales 
which  are  occasionally  experienced  here.  There  ap- 
peared to  be  many  vessels  of  different  sizes  in  the  port, 
and,  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city,  it  bore  quite  the 
aspect  of  a  maritime  place.  After  depositing  our  lug- 
gage at  the  railway  station,  we  ascended  the  rising 
ground  to  look  at  the  city.  Buffalo  resembles  other 
American  cities,  being  regular  in  its  plan,  well-built, 
and  having  broad,  open,  straight  streets,  that  intersect 
each  other  at  right  angles.     The  principal  street,  run- 


PRAIRIE   LAND,   CHICAGO,   DETROIT,   ETC. 


325 


ning  from  east  to  west,  is  named  "Main  Street;"  it  is 
more  than  two  miles  long,  is  120  feet  wide,  and  on  each 
side  has  large  massive  piles  of  buildings  for  stores, 
dwelling-houses,  and  hotels.  There  are  three  public 
squares,  named  "  Niagara,"  "  Franklin,"  and  "  Wash- 
ington" Squares ;  they  are  planted  with  trees,  and  add 
much  to  the  appearance  of  the  city.  There  are  also 
some  good  public  civic  buildings,  and  numerous  churches 
of  more  than  ordinary  architectural  consistency.  Alto- 
gether, the  city  looks  like  a  great  commercial  mart,  and 
situated  as  it  is  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Erie,  from  which 
vessels  can  go  not  only  to  Detroit,  but  also  to  the  Great 
West  by  the  large  upper  lakes  of  Superior  and  Michi- 
gan, and  having  direct  railway  communication  with  the 
St.  Lawrence,  and  also  with  the  Northern  and  Eastern 
States,  Buffalo  presents  ever}'"  promise  of  increasing  im- 
portance and  thrift.  It  first  became  a  settlement  of 
white  men  in  1800  ;  in  1814  it  was  only  a  small  village, 
surrounded  by  thick  forests ;  in  1825  it  had  only  2000 
inhabitants ;  but  since  then,  tlirough  the  formation  of 
the  Erie  Canal,  which  opened  the  navigation  between 
the  Atlantic  and  the  upper  lakes,  its  increase  has  been 
amazing.  Three  times  within  thirty  years  it  has 
doubled  its  population,  and  it  now  contains  as  many  as 
80,000  inhabitants.  Its  situation  by  Lake  Erie  secures 
to  it  both  pleasing  views  and  refreshing  breezes. 

After  having  viewed  Buffalo,  we  took  the  railway- 
train  for  Niagara  Falls,  and  passed  through  several 
small  towns  and  villages,  having  the  Niagara  River 
flowing  smoothly  at  our  left.  In  little  more  than  an 
hour  we  passed  through  Niagara  village,  crossed  the 
new  suspension  bridge  over  the  deep  chasm  of  the  river, 
and  landed  at  the  railway  station  on  the  Canada  side. 


326 


PRAIRIE   LAND,  CHICAGO,  DETROIT,  ETC. 


We  engaged  a  coach,  drove  towards  Clifton  House,  and 
as  we  went,  knowing  that  we  were  now  in  the  British 
dominions,  we  took  off  our  hats,  and,  with  loyal  hearts, 
together  exclaimed  aloud,  "  God  save  the  Queen ! "  We 
soon  had  our  rooms  solected,  and,  making  as  little  delay- 
as  p  jssible,  you  may  be  sure,  went  out  to  have  our  first 
gaze  at  the  giant  cataracts,  the  deep  ponderous  sound 
of  which  we  could  now  distinctly  hear. 


r:' 


"rj^^^ 


E^-.  .    "vT?' 


SAt_ 


ETC. 

House,  ard 
the  British 
loyal  hearts, 
leen!"  We 
I  little  delay 
ve  our  first 
srous  sound 


'xic'^m-i^ 


% 


LETTER  XIX. 


THE    FALLS    OF    NIAGARA. 


i 


Source  of  the  Falls  from  the  Great  Lakes— The  River  of  Niagara — The 
Whirlpool — The  Rapids— Goat  Island— The  American  Fall — Luna  Island 
— 'J'he  Middle  Fall — The  Canada,  or  "Horse-shoe"  Fall — Retrogression  of 
the  Falls  according  to  Geologists — View  of  the  Falls  from  the  Hotel 
13alcouy — View  from  the  River  Bank — From  "Prospect  Place" — From 
the  Bridge  over  the  Rapids — Landing  on  Goat  Island — "  Prospect  Tower ' 
—The  "Cave  of  Winds"— The  Falls  by  Moonlight— I -gends  and  Tales 
of  Horror  respecting  the  Falls. 


I  AM  now  in  the  presence  of  this  great  overpowering 
wonder  of  creation — the  Falls  of  Niagara.  I  have  been 
here  three  days,  viewing  it  from  all  points,  until  my 
mind  is  filled  with  it,  and  now,  from  the  hotel  window, 
from  whence  I  can  see  it,  and  from  amid  so  much  of  its 
ceaseless  sound  as  seems  to  make  the  earth  tremble 
under  the  building,  and  which  shakes  the  window-frame 
of  this  my  chamber,  I  attempt  to  describe  it.  I  feel  the 
attempt  to  be  almost  hopeless,  for  words  can  never 
describe  this  overwhelming  spectacle,  nor  express  the 
mingled  sensations  of  awe  and  delight  with  which  it  is 
beheld.  I  have  here  felt  more  than  ever  the  excelling 
grandeur  of  the  works  of  God  as  compared  with  the 
works  of  man.  One  may  have  experienced  deep  and 
solemn  emotion  in  visiting  English  and  foreign  cathe- 
drals— viewing  them  in  their  long-retiring  perspective 


328 


THE   FALLS   OF  NIAGARA. 


of  columns  and  arches,  of  nave  and  choir,  of  transept 
and  aisles — under  varying  and  changeful  lights,  or 
coloured  with  slanting  reflections  of  richly-stained  win- 
dows, at  noon  of  day,  or  darkened  into  gloomy  and 
frowning  grandeur  at  the  approach  of  night;  but 
the  contemplation  of  God's  workmanship,  which  man 
can  neither  alter  or  adorn,  is  productive  of  far  more 
profound  and  indescribable  feeling  and  thought.  I  felt 
it  to  be  so  when  you  and  I  together  viewed  the  stern 
uninhabitable  Alps,  which  rise  so  far  above  the  paths  of 
men,  and  seem  themselves  to  inhabit  the  heavens — those 
Alps,  which,  when  once  viewed,  ever  afterwards  "  stand 
fast"  before  the  mind  as  the  everlasting  hills  which  i 
cannot  be  moved,  and  as  the  abiding  proof  of  the  Divine  ^ 
omnipotence.  It  was  so  with  the  ocean,  as  I  saw  it  in 
our  outward  voyage  to  this  continent — that  dread 
infinity  of  "many  sounding"  waters  has  a  voice  for 
the  soul  which  language  cannot  express.  And  it  is  so 
with  Niagara :  there  is  a  might  and  majesty  in  it  which 
irresistibly  sway  the  soul  of  man,  and  make  him  feel  his 
own  insignificance,  and  the  littleness  of  all — even  of  the 
greatest  works  of  his  race. 

Before  coming  to  view  the  FalL-j,  we  were  repeatedly 
warned  by  our  iriends  against  yielding  to  a  feeling  of 
disappointment  at  first  sight.  But  though  in  most 
things  where  high  expectations  are  entertained  the 
imagination  usually  exceeds  the  reality,  it  was  not  so 
with  us  and  Niagara ;  indeed,  it  is  difficult  to  under- 
stand how  expectation  could  surpass  this  scene.  When 
it  first  burst  on  our  sight  we  felt  it  to  be  unspeakably 
sublime;  and  as  we  have  viewed  it  from  various  standing- 
points  day  after  day,  our  wonder  and  delight  have  never 
abated.  We  have  scarcely  thought  of  anything  else  by 
day,  and  we  have  had  no  real  sleep  by  night ;  rushing 


THE   FALLS  OF   NIAGARA. 


329 


cataracts  have  always  been  before  the  mind,  whether  we 
have  been  in  slumber  or  broad  awake — we  seem  to  live 
in  a  sort  of  reverie  with  waterfalls.  "When  in  the 
immediate  presence  of  this  marvel  we  are  all  agitation — 
our  awe  approaclies  to  terror — the  blood  seems  to  be 
sent  back  with  overj^owering  pressure  to  its  fountain — 
we  stand  ^^asping  for  breath,  mute  and  powerless,  and 
are  some  minutes  before  we  can  do  anything  but  gaze, 
and  before  we  can  begin  to  contemplate. 

I  believe  it  to  be  impossible  for  words,  however  skil- 
fully employed,  to  express  the  feelings  and  thoughts  with 
which  Niagara  is  viewed.  It  must  be  seen  for  those  to 
be  known.  The  most  moderate  and  defective  language 
will  seem  exaggeration  to  those  who  have  not  been 
where  we  now  are.  I  am  not  sure  that  what  I  now 
write  will  not,  even  to  you,  seem  to  be  such  ;  but  I  must, 
in  this  instance,  be  willing  to  pay  the  unavoidable 
penalty  of  being  deemed  too  emotional,  and  console 
myself  with  the  thought  that  nearly  all  who  come  after 
me  will  irresistibly  and  inevitably  find  themselves  in 
the  same  case.  Yet  I  must  attempt  something  like  a 
narrative  description. 

The  Falls  of  Niagara  are  the  headlong  plunging  of 
an  immeasurable  mass  of  waters,  which  flow  down 
from  the  Great  Lakes  enumerated  in  my  last  letter, 
and  which  here  suddenly  precipitate  themselves  over 
immense  shelves  of  rocks  down  into  the  river  or  strait 
below.  From  thence  they  hurry  onward  to  unite 
themselves  with  the  lower  waters  of  Lake  Ontario, 
which  empties  itself  into  the  St.  Lawrence,  from 
whence,  winding  amidst  a  thousand  islands,  the  outlet 
is  into  the  vast  Atlantic.  The  source  of  this  im- 
mense volume  of  water  is  in  the  rocky  region  of  the 
north-west  of  the  American  continent.     It  is  estimated 


330 


THE  FALLS  OF  NIAGARA. 


''.' 


'\ 


that  Niagara  drains  an  area  of  not  less  than  40,000 
sfjuare  miles,  and  is  connected  with  half  the  entire 
quantity  of  the  fresh  water  of  the  globe.  The  waters  of 
the  four  large  inland  seas — Tiakes  Superior,  Michigan, 
Huron,  and  Erie,  with  all  the  rivers  and  streams  flowing 
into  thera — all  pass  onwards  by  this  course,  which,  in 
their  narrow,  deep  bed  between  liuke  Erie  and  Lake 
Ontario  is  named  "the  River  of  Niagara."  The  dis- 
tance between  these  two  lakes  (and,  consequently,  the 
length  of  this  river)  is  about  thirty-seven  miles,  and  its 
entire  descent  from  the  basin  of  Lake  Erie  to  that  of 
Lake  Ontario  is  334  feet.  At  about  twenty  miles  from 
Lake  Erie,  across  the  entire  bed  of  the  descending  river, 
occurs  a  sudden  break  in  the  rock,  where  the  waters 
I'all  160  feet  downwards  over  the  perpendicular  cliffs, 
and  these  are  called  the  Falls  of  Niagara.  The  river, 
as  it  leaves  Lake  Erie,  is  about  a  mile  in  width,  and 
flows  but  lazily  along  at  first,  between  low  and  marshy 
banks,  and  almost  in  a  straight  line,  being  dotted  with 
many  small  islets.  It  widens,  however,  in  some  places 
as  it  approaches  the  Falls  to  nearly  three  miles.  Then, 
when  it  has  passed  the  Falls,  it  suddenly  narrows 
exceedingly,  for  immediately  below  them  the  river  is 
confined  within  a  gorge  of  only  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
wide,  and  thus  it  flows  onwards  in  its  straitened  channel, 
in  a  more  serpentine  course,  to  Lake  Ontario.  In  the 
upper  part,  or  before  it  reaches  the  Falls,  the  river  is 
comparatively  shallow,  but  half-a-mile  below  the  Falls — 
the  point  nearest  to  them  at  which  soundings  have  been 
ascertained — it  is  as  much  as  260  feet  deep.  Lower 
down  it  is  deeper  still.  Immediately  under  the  Falls, 
where  the  bed  of  the  river  receives  the  descending  flood, 
the  depth  cannot  be  fatl  tmed,  but,  from  the  time  which 
elapses  between  the  passage  of  a  huge  piece  of  timber 


THE  FALLS   OP  NIAGARA. 


331 


over  the  pi*ecipico,  and  its  reappearance  on  the  surfuco 
of  the  river  below,  it  is  supposed  that  the  depth  of  the 
cauldron  of  waters  there  is  very  great  indeed.  An 
opinion  is  entertained  that,  at  the  foot  of  the  Falls, 
and  in  other  parts,  there  are  vast  cavernous  openings 
through  which  a  portion  of  the  water  finds  its  way,  by 
subterraneous  channels,  beneath  the  natural  bed  of  the 
Niagara,  straight  into  liuke  Ontario.  This  opinion  would 
seem  to  find  support  from  the  fact  that  there  are  concave 
recesses  and  deep  yawning  hollows  under  and  behind  the 
Falls,  as  well  as  from  the  appearance  of  the  water  :it 
points  and  bonds  lower  down,  where  it  whirls  up  as  from 
rushing  under- currents.  The  bed  of  the  river,  as  it 
proceeds  downwards  in  its  winding  course,  narrows  into 
a  deep,  rocky,  picturesque  gorge,  which,  in  one  part,  is 
not  more  than  100  yards  wide,  and  descends  in  its  surface 
line  below  the  overhanging  cliffs  and  wooded  banks, 
until  it  is  as  much  as  400  feet  below  them.  It,  there- 
fore, becomes  difiicult  to  conceive,  without  the  admission 
of  a  subterranean  passage,  how  the  millions  of  tons  of 
water  from  the  Lake  region  above,  which  are  precipitated 
every  hour  over  the  Falls  of  Niagara,  can  be  held  within 
that  narrow  channel  below.  At  a  distance  of  about  three 
miles  below  the  Falls,  at  a  bend  of  the  river  in  its  nar- 
rowest ptrait,  there  is  a  singularlr  turbulent  appearance 
in  the  midstream,  called  the  "  Whiilpool,"  where  the 
gathering  waters  whirl  in  circuiyr  and  agitated  eddies 
until  they  rise  as  much  as  10  feet  above  the  edge  of  the 
stream.  Here  huge  logs  and  fallen  trees  are  caught  in 
their  descending  course,  and  are  twisted  round  and 
round  by  the  circular  motion  of  the  water  until  they 
stand  on  end  with  several  feet  out  of  the  river,  and  then 
sink  down  and  disappear  entirely.  It  is  supposed  that 
this  is  one  of  those  cavernous  hollows  where  the  water 


332 


THE  FALLS  OF  NIAt  XaA. 


/ 


either  rushes  up  from  a  subterrunenn  pnssngo  beneath 
the  bed  of  the  river,  or  sinks  whirling  down  from  the 
channel  above  into  the  vaulted  stream  below.  Whether 
either  side  of  this  theory  be  true,  or  whether  the  strange 
turmoil  there  is  caused  by  the  river  making  a  sharp  bend 
in  its  narrow  rock-bound  channel  at  nearly  a  right- angle, 
I  am  not  competent  to  pronounce,  I  can  only  say  that  the 
sight  of  the  "  tro  iblcd  waters  "  there  is  very  impressive. 
As  the  floods  hurled  over  the  Fulls  rise  up  from  the 
huge  seething  cauldron  into  which  they  have  been  pre- 
cipitated, and  issue  forth  into  the  lower  river  to  flow 
towards  this  whirlpool,  and  then  in  a  widening  channel 
to  Lake  Ontario,  they  do  not  toss  themselves  into  waves, 
but  move  heavily  along,  as  if  stunned  by  their  fearful 
descent,  or  as  if 

"  Astoundi'd  and  nmozud ; 
No  wonder :  fall'u  such  a  pernicious  height." 

Paralysis  seems  to  succeed  the  sudden  shock.  But  this 
is  only  temporary.  As  the  river  descends  in  its  course 
it  recovers  strength  and  buoyancy,  and  at  length  hurries 
rapidly  towards  its  destined  receptacle.  Lake  Ontario. 
The  rate  at  which  the  River  of  Niagara  travels  from  one 
lake  to  the  other  is  from  two  to  eight  miles  per  hour, 
according  to  the  nature  of  the  declivities  and  angles  met 
with  in  its  passage. 

Immediately  above  the  Falls  are  what  are  termed  "  The 
Bapids."  These  are  tumultuous  descents  of  the  water 
over  a  succession  of  rocky  shelves  towards  the  giant  pre- 
cipice of  the  Falls.  Within  one  mile's  space  the  stream 
thus  descends,  by  a  succession  of  slopes,  as  much  as  50 
or  60  feet,  and  also  narrows  itself,  as  I  have  stated,  from 
about  three  miles  in  width  to  three-fourths  of  a  mile. 
All  along  its  journey  over  these  rocky  shelves,  the  speed 
of  the  river  is,  of  course,  much  accelerated,  its  waters 


4 


THE   FALLS   OP   NIAQARA. 


333 


oneath 
im  the 
hother 
itrange 
•p  bend 
;.  angle, 
liut  the 
iressive. 
•om  the 
jen  pre- 
to  flow 
channel 
0  waves, 
r  fearful 


But  this 
;8  course 
hurries 
Ontario. 
Tom  one 
)er  hour, 
tries  met 

ed"The 
he  water 
iant  pre- 

e  stream 
ich  as  50 
ted,  from 

f  a  mile. 

;he  speed 

s  waters 


rago  furiously,  toss  and  upheave  themselves  into  the  air, 
and  seem  to  battle  madly  with  each  other  in  their  fated 
course  to  the  margin  of  the  precipice  which  awaits  them. 
About  half  way  up  the  llapids,  the  raging  waters  are 
divided  into  two  moving  masses  by  the  intervention  of 
an  island  called  "  Goat  Island,"  which  lies  nearly  in  the 
middle  of  the  river,  and  extends  its  north-western  extre- 
mity to  the  very  edge  of  the  grand  precipice,  and  thus 
makes  of  Niagara  two  great  falls  of  water.  The  body 
of  water  between  this  island  and  the  American  shore  is 
named  "The  American  Fall,"  and  the  body  of  water 
between  Goat  Island  and  the  Canadian  shore  is  termed 
"The  Canada  Fall." 

The  American  Fall  is  900  feet  in  breadth,  and  the 
water  descends  nearly  perpendicularly  over  a  precipice 
of  164  feet  in  depth.  This  fall,  by  the  intervention  of 
another  and  much  smaller  island,  called  "  Ijuna  Island," 
from  the  lunar  rainbows  seen  on  it  by  night,  is  divided 
for  the  space  of  30  feet  into  another  cataract,  which 
bears  the  name  of  "  The  Middle  Fall,"  and  is  a  fall  of 
crystal  clearness  and  beauty.  The  Canada  Fall  is  as 
much  as  1800  feet  in  breadth,  without  any  intervention 
in  any  part,  and  with  a  deep  bend  in  the  surface  line, 
formerly  in  the  shape  of  a  horse-shoe  (whence  it  is 
called  "The  Horse-shoe  Fall"),  but  now  worn  to  the 
figure  of  a  demi-hexagon ;  and  its  vast  body  of  waters 
descend  less  perpendicularly,  or  with  a  greater  projectile 
curve,  over  cliffs  158  feet  deep.  The  greatest  volume 
of  water  rushes  over  the  Canada  Fall,  and  it  is  by  far 
the  grandest  and  most  impressive  spectacle — though, 
if  the  American  Fall  were  alone,  it  would  be  reckoned 
one  of  the  greatest  wonders  of  creation. 

As  much  as  seven-eighths  of  the  whole  descending 
water  rolls  over  the  Canada  Fall ;  and  that  with  a  pro- 


(k- 


i> 


\  \ 


334 


THE   FALLS  OF   NIAGARA. 


I!' 
r 


jecting  curve  of  not  less  than  twenty  feet  at  the  edge 
of  the  precipice.  This  sweeping  curve-line,  with  the 
glancing  sun-light  upon  its  ever-moving  crest,  and  its 
constant  variety  of  translucent  colours,  give  the  Canada 
Fall  an  aspect  of  more  commanding  attraction  than 
that  of  its  neighbour.  The  American  Fall  can  only 
boast  of  a  straight  line,  which,  as  every  one  knows,  is 
never  favourable  to  ccauty.  And  then,  again,  while 
wantipg  that  gracefully  sweeping  curve  of  rolling  waters 
over  the  edge  of  the  precipice,  its  cataract  does  not,  as 
in  the  Canada  Fall,  pour  itself  into  an  abyss  of  con- 
vulsed and  fathomless  waters,  white  as  molten  silver — 
but  plunges  among  fragments  of  dark  fallen  rocks,  from 
whence  it  winds  its  way  into  the  lower  river.  From 
the  foot  of  both  the  Falls,  however,  clouds  of  white  mist 
or  spray,  like  fine  steam,  ascend  high  up  into  the  air  in 
curling  wreaths,  until  they  seem  to  mingle  with  the 
clouds  of  heaven.  In  this  respect  the  "Horse-shoe" 
Fall  is  still  greatly  superior  to  the  American;  the 
cloud  of  shining  vapour  hanging  over  it  proclaims  to 
travellers  far  distant  that  they  are  approaching  this 
wonder;  and,  no  doubt,  it  calls  up  before  the  imagina- 
tion of  some  of  them,  as  it  did  with  me,  that  Pillar  of 
the  Cloud  which  hung  over  the  Tabernacle  in  the  Wil- 
derness, and  which  preceded  the  march  of  the  Israelites 
to  the  Promised  Land. 

According  to  Sir  Charles  Lyell,  and  other  geologists, 
the  Falls  of  Niagara  have  gradually  retrograded  north- 
wards, having  eaten  their  way  backwards  from  Queens- 
ton,  which  is  seven  miles  distant  from  the  present 
Falls,  four  miles  beyond  the  Whirlpool,  and  about  half 
way  between  the  present  Falls  and  Lake  Ontario.  This 
conclusion  of  men  of  science  is  a  very  probable  one ;  for 
the  action  of  the  immense  volume  of  water  which  pours 


B  edge 
th  the 
ind  its 
Canada 
a  than 
n  only 
LOWS,  is 
I,  while 
r  waters 
i  not,  as   , 
of  con- 
silver — ■ 
ks,  from 
.    From 
iiite  mist 
he  air  in 
with  the 
•se-shoe" 
;an;    the 

aims  to 
ling  this 
imagina- 

Pillar  of 

the  Wil- 
;sraelite8 

eologists, 
ed  north- 
Q,ueen8- 
present 
bout  half 
■rio.    This 
one;  for 
ich  pours 


f 


f 


THE   FALLS   OF  NIAGARA. 


335 


over  the  precipices  at  the  rate  of  20  millions  of  cubic 
feet  per  minute,  with  the  stupendous  weight  of  100 
millions  of  tons  per  hour,  must  of  necessity  "  wear  away 
stones,"  and  so  remove  the  Falls  farther  and  farther 
upwards.  No  person  can  examine,  even  cursorily,  the 
strata  of  the  Falls  and  the  bed  of  the  river,  without  per- 
ceiving that  the  process  of  disintegration,  or  gradual 
abrasion  and  removal  of  both  rocks  and  soil,  has  long 
been  going  on,  as  it  is  going  on  at  the  present  time. 
The  ponderous  body  of  water  which  teems  over  the 
precipice  falls  from  a  height  as  great  as  that  of  the  front 
towers  of  York  Cathedral.  The  upper  ledge  is  of  hard 
limestone  rock,  and  the  immediately  underlying  bed 
consists  of  slaty  shale  in  horizontal  layers,  which  is 
perpetually  crumbling  away.  Blasts  of  wind,  charged 
with  the  spray  that  is  constantly  rising  from  the  fathom- 
less abyss  under  the  cataract,  strike  against  this  bed  of 
perishable  shales,  and,  together  with  the  expansive 
agency  of  frosts,  incessantly  crumble  and  force  it  away 
from  under  the  calcareous  rock,  and  leave  the  limestone 
to  project  without  support. 

Through  the  operation  of  these  agencies,  there  is  now 
a  passage  behind  the  falling  waters  of  the  Horse-shoe 
Fall  of  50  feet  wide  in  some  parts  ;  hither  adventurous 
visitors  go  for  a  length  of  100  feet,  upon  a  slippery 
path,  to  be  immersed  in  spray  and  sand-dust,  while  they 
have  the  concave  recesses  and  worn-away  limestone  on 
the  one  hand,  and  the  crystal  veil  of  the  descending 
flood,  through  which  the  light  gleams,  on  the  other. 
From  time  to  time,  the  unsupported  rock  falls  in  large 
masses  headlong  into  the  profound  abyss  below,  and 
into  the  bed  of  the  river  around,  with  a  sound  the  most 
terrific.  Such  a  fall  occurred  on  the  American  side  in 
1818,  and  again  in  1843 ;  and  on  the  Canadian  side  in 


I  m 


'    1 


<\ 


336 


THE  FALLS  OF   NIAGARA. 


1828.  In  1852,  a  large  portion  of  thf  Horse-shoe 
ledge  fell,  and  left  a  severed  mass,  150  feet  high,  re- 
maining erect.  On  all  these  occasions,  it  is  affirmed, 
the  surrounding  district  was  shaken  as  if  by  an  earth- 
quake. Parts  of  the  fallen  rocks  still  remain  at  the 
foot  of  both  the  cataracts,  and  appear  like  the  over- 
thrown rrlics  of  a  Cyclopean  wall.  Living  men,  of 
advanced  years,  who  from  childhood  have  resided  in 
the  neighbourhood,  affirm  that  in  their  time  the  Horse- 
shoe Fall  has  receded  as  much  as  150  feet.  An  early 
print,  made  from  a  drawing  by  Father  Hennepin,  in 
1678,  confif  jQs  this  statement,  and  shows  another  fall 
jetting  out  obliquely  from  the  Canadian  cliff,  where  the 
"Table  Rock"  has  since  fallen:  with  the  Table  Bock 
the  oblique  jet  has  wholly  disappeared. 

Every  intelligent  observer  may  ascertain  for  himself, 
that  the  appearance  of  the  disintegrated  strata  (along  this 
space  of  150  feet,  which  is  said  to  have  been  worn  away 
within  the  memory  of  living  men),  as  seen  at  the  sides 
of  the  ravine,  are  precisely  of  the  same  character  as  that 
of  the  seven  miles  gorge  which  has  been  gradually 
excavated  backwards  from  Queenston  to  the  present 
Falls ;  while,  at  several  points,  he  will  find  unmistake- 
able  wearings  of  an  overflowing  flood  of  waters :  so 
that  the  probability,  if  not  certainty,  is  with  the  con- 
clusion of  geological  science,  that  the  Falls  have  gra- 
dually receded  through  the  seven  miles  chasm  up  to 
their  present  position,  and  have  scooped  out  for  them- 
selves the  deep  and  rocky  ravine  through  which  the 
river  now  flows  from  them  southwards. 

The  only  difficulty  in  the  way  of  this  conclusion  is 
the  length  of  time  required  for  the  process.  For,  if 
150  feet  have  been  worn  away  within  the  memory  of 
living  men,  it  would  require  10,000  years  at  least  (Lyell 


[orse-shoe 
high,  re- 
affirmed, 
an  earth- 
in  at  the 
the  over- 
men, of 
esided  in 
le  Horse- 
An  early 
Qepin,  in 
)ther  fall 
rhere  the 
3le  Rock 

himself, 
long  this 
)rn  away 
the  sides 
r  as  that 
;radually 

present 
mistake- 
ters :  so 
the  con- 
ive  gra- 
n  up  to 
tr  them- 
lich  the 

usion  is 

For,  if 

mory  of 

t  (Lyell 


Bfl^K^ 

',  ; 

■Is 

t 


O 


55 


H 


U 


FALLS  OF  NIAGARA. 


337 


sp.ys  35,000  !)  for  the  Falls  to  have  reached  their  present 
situation.  But,  without  encroaching  on  the  Scriptural 
chronology  of  the  world  in  this  instance  (if  the  first 
verse  of  the  Bible  is  not  to  be  separated,  as  a  general 
statement  respecting  the  creation  of  all  things),  since  it 
cannot  be  proved  that  the  rate  of  the  abrading  power 
upon  the  rocks  has  never  been  swifter  than  it  is  at 
present,  the  difficulty  of  time,  even  with  the  most 
tenacious  holder  by  the  old  chronology,  need  not  prevent 
the  conclusion  of  science  on  this  question. 

Another  question  may  arise  in  the  mind,  as  to  the 
number  of  years  that  would  be  required  to  bear  back 
the  Falls,  at  their  present  rate  of  recession,  throvigh  the 
twenty  miles  which  intervene  between  thjm  and  Lake 
Erie.  But  the  geological  survey  recently  made  may 
save  us  the  trouble  of  a  calculation :  the  limest  jne  rock 
dips  northward  towards  Lake  Erie,  and  at  the  distance 
of  two  riiles — if  the  Falls  recede  so  far — the  limestone 
will  be  at  the  base,  the  ledge  incomparably  lower  than  it 
is  at  present,  the  weight  of  water  incomparably  less,  and, 
most  likely,  the  recession  would  cease  altogether.  Such, 
at  least,  is  the  opinion  of  the  first  living  geologists. 
The  accompanying  ideal  bird's-eye  view  of  the  course 
of  the  Niagara  waters,  from  Lake  Erie  to  Lake  Ontario, 
as  suggested  by  Sir  Charles  Lyell  in  his  Geographical 
Observations  on  America,  will  explain  to  you,  at  a 
glance,  both  the  position  of  the  Falls,  and  the  character 
of  the  bed  of  the  river  down  which  their  volume  flows. 

But  whatever  the  supposed  facts  of  the  formation  and 
process  of  this  great  phenomenou  of  nature  may  be, 
undoubtedly  it  is  one  of  the  most  stupendous  and  over- 
whelming of  all  the  works  of  the  Almighty.  If  a  visitor 
to  these  shores  were  to  see  nothing  else,  it  would  be 

z 


'  11 


338 


^  i 


THE   FALLS  OF  NIAGARA. 


worth  his  transit  over  half  the  convex  world.  Dr. 
Hannah  and  I  commenced  our  survey,  on  the  morning 
of  our  arrival,  without  any  preconcerted  plan.  We 
agreed  simply  on  one  thing — that  we  would  not  hurry 
from  point  to  point,  but  would  deliberately  view  it  in 
its  various  features,  until  we  should  have  received  into 
our  minds  as  full  an  impression  of  its  solemn  grandeur 
as  possible.  And  this  has  proved  our  best  course.  "We 
have  now  walked  and  sauntered  around  it  for  nearly 
four  days :  we  have  stood  before  it  on  fallen  masses  of 
rock,  under  its  white  drizzling  spray,  until,  with  sight 
bedazzled  and  ears  confounded,  we  could  almost  imagine 
that  we  were  witnessing  a  wcrJd  of  waters  come  tum- 
bling down  out  of  a  rent  in  the  firmament,  or  that  Chaos 
were  come  again  ;  and  we  have  watched  it  with  greater 
calmness  at  a  more  respectful  distance. 

The  general  scene,  as  beheld  even  from  the  balcony  of 
the  hotel  where  I  am  writing,  is  magnificent.  Yet  this 
view  of  the  Falls  being  from  an  elevated  point,  and  at  a 
distance,  is  not  so  overpowering  in  its  awful  effect  as 
that  taken  from  a  lower  stand-point  and  in  closer  con- 
tiguity with  the  great  wonder.  Here,  from  the  hotel 
balcony,  the  vision  is  that  of  a  panorama  of  cataracts. 
The  Hortie-shoe  Fall  is  directly  before  us — an  extended 
line  of  overflowing  waters,  reaching  across  and  filling 
up  the  whole  breadth  of  the  yawning  chasm  between 
one  bank  of  the  river  and  Goat  Island.  The  American 
Fall  is  on  our  left,  separated  from  the  Canadian  Full 
by  that  islana,  and  divided  by  Luna  Island  into  one 
expansive  cataract,  and  another  of  more  slender  breadth. 
The  water,  as  seen  rolling  over  the  rocky  ledge  at  this 
distance,  appears  like  moving  sheets  of  snow-white 
foam,  varied  at  intervals  with  gleaming   crystal   and 


THE  FALLS  OF  NIAGARA. 


339 


.      Dr. 

lorning 
1.     We 

t  liurry 
iw  it  in 
(red  into 
■randeur 
je.     We 
p  nearly 
lasses  of 
til  sigbt 
imagine 
me  tum- 
lat  Chaos 
ti  greater 

)alcony  of 
1  Yet  this 
and  at  a 
effect  as 
oser  con- 
;he  hotel 
cataracts, 
extended 
ad  filling 
between 
A.merican 
iian  Full 
into  one 
'  breadth, 
re  at  this 
LOW- white 
?8tal  and 


emerald.  The  background  beyond  the  Horse-shoe 
Fall,  and  on  the  right,  is  a  richly-wooded  elevation 
sprinkled  with  villa-like  buildings.  The  clothing  of 
the  forest  trees  on  Goat  Island,  and  of  the  shrubbery 
on  the  shelving  sides  of  the  river,  is  a  rich  spring  green ; 
while  from  both  the  great  cataracts  rise  clouds  of  spray 
that  steam  high  up  into  the  air,  are  wreathed  by  the 
wind  into  spiral  forms,  and  then  disperse  imperceptibly, 
or  join  the  overhanging  vapours  in  the  heavens.  I 
have  sketched  and  coloured  this  view,  from  the  hotel 
balcony,  considering  that,  though  it  is  not  the  most 
impressive,  yet  it  may  be  regarded  as  the  most  explana- 
tory view  of  the  Falls  that  could  be  selected  to  present 
to  the  eye  of  a  noi.-observer. 

When  we  first  descended  from  the  balcony  of  our 
hotel,  we  advanced  towards  the  Horse-shoe  Fall  along 
the  Canadian  cliff.  We  then  returned  to  the  point  im- 
mediately on  the  left,  by  our  hotel,  and  winding  down 
upon  a  carriage  road  formed  at  the  side  of  the  river,  we 
took  the  ferry-boat,  and  crossed  over  to  the  bank  on  the 
American  side,  that  we  might  view  the  general  scene 
from  thence.  In  crossing,  we  found  the  river,  which 
looked  peacefully  smooth  from  above,  to  be  variously 
agitated  and  heavy  in  its  descending  current.  Our 
skifi"  seemed  a  mere  cockle-shell  in  the  disturbed  waters ; 
but  our  strong-armed  ferryman  pulled  us  over,  with 
our  bow  pointed  against  the  flow  of  the  current,  and  in 
ten  minutes  landed  us  at  the  foot  of  the  wooden  stair- 
case on  the  other  side  of  the  river.  In  our  short  pas- 
sage the  spray  from  the  cataracts  fell  thickly  upon  us, 
and  partially  obscured  our  view  of  the  Falls  ;  but  this 
served  to  heighten  the  efiect,  by  veiling  the  grand  object 
in  mysterious  folds. 


,../ 


P! 


340 


THE   FALLS  OF   NIAGARA. 


Haying  landed  on  the  American  side,  we  ascended 
by  the  wooden  staircase  of  300  steps  to  the  cliffs, — 
passing  out  at  intervals  to  view  the  American  Fall  in 
its  huge  profile, — and  on  reaching  the  top  we  stood  on 
a  picturesque  and  frequented  piece  of  ground,  called 
"  Prospect  Place,"  doubtless  on  account  of  the  impres- 
sive view  here  to  be  obtained  of  the  Falls.  Standing  at 
the  side  of  the  American  Fall,  and  looking  over  its  vast 
body  of  waters  as  they  rush  down  from  the  Rapids  at 
your  left,  and  rt.l  over  the  edge  of  the  precipice  at  your 
right  into  the  guif  beneath,  you  see  the  great  Canadian 
Fall,  with  its  long  reach  of  snowy  foam  in  front,  skirted 
and  backed  with  trees  and  verdant  embankments,  and 
with  its  column  of  half-transparent  spray  hovering 
before  it  and  ascending  on  high.  We  had  this  view 
daguerreotyped,  with  Dr.  Hannah  and  myself  in  the 
foreground — for  such  is  the  regularity  even  in  the  in- 
dentations and  foldings  of  these  ever-moving  waters, 
that  they  may  be  successfully  transferred  by  the  sun- 
light to  the  chemically  prepared  plate.  But  it  is  impos- 
sible to  give,  even  with  this  accurate  representation  by 
the  sun  itself,  the  accompanying  impression  of  resistless 
and  overwhelming  power  which  is  experienced  by  the 
spectator  in  the  presence  of  this  great  work  of  the 
Creator :  such  profound  feeling  cannot  be  transferred 
by  any  art,  however  skilful  or  true.  Upon  the  perfect 
accuracy  of  the  lines  of  the  scene,  as  you  will  see  them  in 
the  daguerreotype,  you  may,  however,  confidently  rely. 

After  lingering  a  considerable  time  over  the  view 
from  Prospect  Place,  we  picked  our  way  eastwards  by 
the  side  of  the  American  Rapids,  until  we  reached  a 
long  wooden  bridge,  which  undaunted  and  persevering 
man  has  thrown  over  the  lesser  breadth  of  these  turbu- 


> 


ended 
ifFs,— 
'all  in 
)od  on 
called 
apres- 
ling  at 
ts  vast 
pids  at 
it  your 
nadian 
skirted 
ts,  and 
(vering 
IS  view 
in  the 
the  in- 
waters, 
le  sun- 
irapos- 
tion  by 
jsistless 
by  the 
of  the 
isferred 
perfect 
hem  in 
y  rely, 
le  view 
irds  by 
iched  a 
Bvering 
turbu- 


i 


THE   FALLS  OF   NIAGARA. 


841 


lent  waters,  that  he  may  have  an  entrance  to  Goat 
Island.  Here,  perhaps,  from  the  middle  of  this  bridge, 
which  trembles  with  the  violent  rush  of  the  water  over 
the  rocky  shelves  beneath  it,  you  have  as  impressive 
a  view  of  the  Rapids  as  can  possibly  be  obtained ;  for 
though  the  amount  of  water  rushing  over  the  American 
Rapids  and  under  you,  as  you  stand  on  this  bridge,  is 
only  one-seventh  of  the  moving  mass  which  descends 
over  the  Rapids  to  the  Horse-  nhoe  Fall,  yet,  as  there  is 
no  bridge  over  the  Canadian  Rapids,  there  is  no  middle 
point  for  seeing  them. 

The  comparative  narrowness  of  the  channel  which  is 
spanned  by  this  bridge  renders  the  waters  more  tumul- 
tuous, and  from  this  stand-point  on  the  safe  but  trem- 
bling bridge,  the  vision  of  the  Rapids  is  really  sublime. 
There  is  a  solemn  grandeur  in  the  wildness  of  the 
waves  that  thrills  one's  whole  nature.  They  are  broken 
into  every  variety  of  form,  as  they  rush  over  their 
shelving  bed  ;  some  of  them  leap  perpendicularly  many 
feet,  and  rear  their  foaming  crests  in  the  air,  far  above 
the  horizontal  line  of  view,  showing  themselves  in  their 
whirling  fury  strongly  against  the  background  of  the 
sky,  and  catching  at  every  change  of  form  and  posture 
gleaming  prismatic  lights  from  the  sun.  Others  rush 
headlong  over  their  broken  bed,  as  if  too  sullenly  reso- 
lute on  reaching  without  delay  the  edge  of  the  great 
gulph,  to  linger  even  for  a  moment  and  upheave  them- 
selves into  spouting  billows.  The  entire  spectacle  of 
these  wild,  tumultuous  waters,  extending  up  to  the  very 
heavens  on  one  hand,  and  down  below  to  the  precipice  on 
the  other,  and  reflecting  in  their  raging  and  multiplying 
forms  the  various  hues  of  sky  and  trees,  is  indescribable 
in  its  effect  upon  the  mind  of  the  beholder. 


312 


THE  FALLS  OF  NIAGARA. 


Crossing  the  long  wooden  bridge,  we  landed  on  Goat 
Island.  This  island  contains  about  sixty  acres  of  forest 
land,  and  is  about  a  mile  in  f  in'xnnferenco.  Where  you 
first  step  upon  it  from  the  bridge  there  is  a  picturesque 
cottage,  with  a  garden  on  the  left,  and  a  factory-like 
paper-mill  by  its  side  on  the  right.  For  the  greater 
part  the  islet  is  thickly  wooded  with  forest-trees  of  large 
growth.  We  hastened  along  a  colonnade  of  these  to 
the  north-western  point  of  the  islet,  singularly  n;  raed 
"  Hog's  Back,"  where  there  is  a  most  charming  and 
impressive  view  looking  down  the  deep  gorge  of  the 
river.  The  profiles  of  the  American  Falls,  divided  by 
the  IcAely  islet  of  Luna,  are  immediately  in  front ;  and 
the  graceful  suspension  bridge  of  800  feet  span,  with  its 
double  floor,  and  swinging  on  its  slender  cables,  is  also 
before  you.  I  traced  this  scene  also  in  my  sketch-book, 
and  while  so  doing,  a  most  beautiful  rainbow  shone  out 
in  its  prismatic  colours  amidst  the  ascending  spray  from 
the  fall,  and  seemed  to  corroborate  the  suitableness  of 
another  name  which  is  sometimes  bestowed  on  the  islet 
of  Lurja,  that  of  "  Iris  Island." 

From  thence  we  took  a  narrow  path,  by  the  side  of 
the  river,  leading  to  the  Ilorse-shoe  Fall  ^passing  what 
I  have  since  visited  alone — the  descent  to  the  eastern 
shore  of  the  river  between  the  cataracts,  called  "  Biddle 
Stairs,"  where  I  sketched  memoranda  of  some  terrific 
views  of  the  descending  torrents  in  front  of  the  "  Cave 
of  Winds"),  and  picked  our  way  to  the  south-western 
corner  of  Goat  Island.  Here,  by  a  narrow,  slender 
bridge  of  shaking  plankp,  we  passed  over  the  Rapids  to 
a  sort  of  lighthouse  structure,  named  "  Prospect  Tow^r," 
that  stands  on  the  very  edge  of  the  terrible  abyss  of  the 
Falls.     Ascending  to  its  height  of  45  feet,  we  looked 


if 


of  the 
ooked 


THE   FALLS   OF   NIAflAUA. 


343 


\ 


dizzily  down  from  our  frail  and  tremblinf^  platform  into 
the  hugo  cuuldruii  of  soothing  and  smoking  waters 
below.  And  hero  again,  as  may  be  supposed,  tlio  scene 
of  the  raging  llapids  and  descending  cataract  was  fear- 
fully sublime.  The  waves  from  the  expanse  of  the 
upper  river  came  tumbling  and  whirling  along,  and 
uniting  at  some  distance  from  the  curved-out  precipice, 
rolled  over  its  ^  k  with  unexampled  grandeur.  TV  ;< 
smooth,  dee]i  '   between  the  llupids  and  the  ecje 

of  the  Fall  11  we  *ii  ake  a  stream  of  molten  glass,  it 
was  so  pelluciu,  UiAii  bO  even  and  un wrinkled  on  its  sur- 
face. But,  as  it  formed  its  curve  of  20  feet  over  the 
brink  of  the  precipice,  it  broke  into  an  infinite  variety 
of  forms  and  colours ; — here  it  looked  like  whirling 
pillars  of  alabaster,  and  there  it  streamed  over  like 
liquid  emerald ; — here  it  seemed  forming  spiral  pillars 
of  glistening  snow,  and  there  it  sparkled  and  gleamed 
like  rolling  folds  of  crystal.  These  ever-changeful  forms 
seemed  to  chase  each  other  down  into  the  terrific  gulph 
beneath,  from  whence  clouds  of  drizzling  spray  came 
rolling  upwards  to  our  faces  ;  while,  as  if  to  inspire  us 
with  hope  on  our  slcn  ler  and  quivering  stage  over  the 
fearful  abyss,  lovely  rainbows  interlaced  each  other 
before  us,  and,  as  if  to  inspire  ns  with  praise  to  the 
Creator  of  so  much  awful  magnificence,  a  little  song- 
bird, so  iring  amid  the  ascending  incense  of  this  high 
altar  of  falling  waters,  warbled  its  sweet  carol  in  notes 
of  silvery-ringing  clearness,  so  as  to  be  distinctly  heard 
above  tho  deep  roaring  from  the  cavern  of  howling 
winds  below.  But  all  this,  in  its  mingled  grandeur, 
terror,  and  beauty,  surpasses  verbal  description ;  it 
must  be  beheld  to  be  appreciated. 

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344 


THE   FALLS  OF  NIAGARA. 


can  be  yiewed  P  I  should  answer,  "  Alone,  and  in 
silence  :  in  deep,  profound  silence."  This  is  the  imme- 
diate dictate  of  man's  nature  while  standing  before  it. 
And  doubtless  this  dictate  ought  to  be  obeyed.  There 
are  some  scenes,  sacred  in  their  solemn  majesty,  which 
ought  to  be  viewed  alone, — scenes  where  the  presence 
of  another  seems  an  intrusion,  and  where  a  passing 
footstep  would  dissolve  the  solemn  charm.  And  when 
in  the  presence  of  this  great  wonder  of  creation,  the 
spell  under  which  the  admiring  soul  is  bound  ought 
not  to  be  broken,  even  by  the  voice  of  loved  compa- 
nionship. Man  feels  himself  to  be  here  most  veritably 
in  the  awful  presence  of  the  Almighty  and  Infinite 
Source  of  Being,  and  he  would  stand  before  his  Creator 
and  worship  in  silence.  Without  any  agreement  foT 
this.  Dr.  Hannah  and  I,  before  inseparable  in  American 
scenes,  have  obeyed  this  instinctive  feeling,  and  fre- 
quently paced  our  way  separately  and  alone  around  this 
scene.  And  as  I  have  stood  at  parts  before  it  to  gaze 
and  contemplate,  I  have  thought  of  the  great  Sir  Isaac 
Newton,  who,  by  his  contemplation  of  the  stupendous 
works  of  creation,  was  so  filled  with  reverence  for  the 
matchless  Maker,  that  he  uniformly  took  off  his  hat  at 
the  mention  of  God's  name.  So,  in  silent  adoration 
before  God  at  the  Falls  of  Niagara,  man  may  well 
uncover  his  head  and  worship.  Infinity  and  Almighty 
power  are  here  the  great  impression.  Voices  from 
innumerable  past  ages  sound  in  its  ever-flowing  waters, 
and  the  future  of  its  continuance  seems  to  have  no 
limit  but  the  end  of  time.  Infinite  variety  and  diver- 
sity are  seen  in  all  its  parts,  and  irresistible  and  over- 
whelming power  are  everywhere  apparent.  Niagara 
is,  in  fact,  the  true  sublime ;  and  like  the  true  sublime 


^ 


?",      - 


■»i<*«T.<wi  »»■■»■>■<» 


,nd  in 
imme- 
:ore  it. 
There 
which 
resence 
passing 
I  when 
3n,  the 
L  ought 
compa- 
eritably 
Infinite 
Creator 
lent  for 
merican 
md  fre- 
md  this 
to  gaze 
Lr  Isaac 
pendous 
for  the 
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oration 
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mighty 
s  from 
waters, 
ave  no 
diver- 
d  over- 
[iagara 
I  sublime 


THE  FALLS  OF  NIAGARA. 


11 


345 


in  other  things,  it  is,  with  all  its  rush  and  fall  of 
waters,  calm  and  majestic.  It  is  not  hurried  and 
confounding.  It  does  not  seem  to  put  forth  all  its 
might.  And  its  vast  booming,  which  resounds  for  miles 
distant,  is  still  the  yoice  of  majesty.  It  does  not  bawl 
or  strain ;  it  is  not  like  any  other  sound  of  earth,  air, 
or  sea ;  for  it  is  a  voice  deep — profoundly  deep  and 
imbroken.  It  is  "the  voice  of  many  waters  and  of 
mighty  thunderings ;"  and  after  all  that  has  been 
written  and  sung  concerning  it  by  gifted  travellers 
and  poets,  the  Iroquois  Indians'  simple  name  for  it 
is  its  best  description — Niagara,  or  "  the  Thunder  of 
Waters." 

The  appearance  of  the  Falls,  and  the  scenery  around 
them,  when  beheld  by  moonlight  have  an  exceedingly 
impressive  and  subduing  effect.  The  whole  is  then 
flooded  with  soft  silvery  brightness,  which  harmonises 
the  scene,  and  renders  it  more  spiritual  in  its  aspect. 
The  harsher  lines  of  the  rocks  and  cliffs  are  softened 
down ;  the  river  flows  in  its  deep  bed  as  if  it  were 
molten  silver ;  the  trees  stand  as  in  dreamy  repose ; 
the  cataracts  themselves  have  a  subdued  lustre  ;  and 
the  very  sound  of  the  Falls,  by  its  softened  cadence, 
seems  to  be  in  sympathy  with  the  scene. 

But  I  am  told  that  the  spectacle  in  winter  is  surpas- 
singly grand  and  wonderful.  And  from  what  I  have 
seen  here  of  daguerreotype  views  taken  by  an  accom- 
plished artist  at  that  season,  I  fully  believe  it  to  be  so. 
In  the  coldest  periods  the  body  of  water  continues,  of 
course,  to  descend  as  usual ;  but  above  the  Bapids,  and  at 
a  mile  or  so  below  the  cataracts,  the  river  is  frozen  over, 
80  that  passengers  go  over  it  on  foot.  The  water  rushes 
from  under  the  ice  of  the  upper  level  to  supply  the 


\  < 


346 


THE  FALLS  OF  NIAGARA. 


/'■ 


Falls,  and  then  passes  again  under  the  ice  of  the  river 
below,  to  flow,  under  cover  of  it,  to  Lake  Ontario,  which, 
as  well  as  Lake  Erie  above,  is  entirely  frozen  over  in 
midwinter.  In  its  course  from  above,  the  descending 
water  brings  with  it  huge  boulders  of  ice,  many  tons  in 
weight,  and  precipitates  them  over  the  Falls,  where 
they  accumulate  imtil  they  sometimes  get  progressively 
piled  up  even  higher  than  the  Falls  themselves.  Mean- 
while the  cataracts  keep  for  themselves  a  free  passage 
between  the  edge  of  the  precipice,  over  which  they  roll, 
and  the  wall  of  ice  and  snow  before  them.  The  re- 
mains of  one  of  these  winter-screens  are  now  to  be 
seen  in  large  dimensions  at  the  foot  of  the  American 
Fall,  and  appears  as  represented  in  the  sketch  from  the 
hotel  balcony.  But  the  appearance  of  the  rocks,  and 
cliffs,  and  trees  at  that  season,  as  depictured  in  the 
daguerreotyped  views  which  I  have  seen,  is  especially 
striking.  The  rocks  and  cliffs  appear  hooded  and 
cloaked  with  ice  and  snow.  The  trees,  retaining  the 
drifted  particles  of  frozen  spray  from  the  cataracts, 
accumulate  upon  their  stems  and  branches  masses  and 
bunches  of  gleaming  ice,  un*^'^  they  assume  the  most 
grotesque  and  significant  for>  The  forest  bends,  as 
it  were,  under  the  fruits  of  ico  with  which  it  is  laden ; 
while  the  smaller  trees  and  shrubs  on  the  margin  of  the 
river  get  filled  up  -^^/ith  statue-like  shapes,  and  stand 
like  nuns  in  snow-white  vestments  to  do  saintly  homage 
in  this  Scandinavian  temple. 

Of  course  there  are  legends  and  tales  of  horror  told 
in  connection  with  the  paths  and  precipices  of  this 
scene  of  terrific  majesty.  In  the  rear  of  Goat  Island 
there  are  several  sentimental-looking  islets  that  lie  side 
by  side  covered  with  moss  and  shrubbery,  and  divided 


cr«iTT:r-a(fi«Mi 


'     > 


I  nver 

vhich, 

irer  in, 

nding 

ons  in 

where 

jsively 

Mean- 

lassage 

)y  roll, 

he  re- 

to  be 
lerican 
3m  the 
ia,  and 
in  the 
pecially 
ed   and 
ng  the 
taracts, 
lies  and 
most 
nds,  as 

laden ; 

of  the 
stand 

lomage 

ror  told 
of  this 
Island 
lie  side 
divided 


// 


THE   FALLS  OF  NIAGARA. 


347 


by  feathery-like  falls,  which  are  associated  with  love- 
scenes,  both  of  life  and  death.  There  are  solitary 
patches  of  ground  in  the  midst  of  the  Rapids,  and  cul- 
tivated plots  on  the  island,  that  are  shown  by  Niagara 
guides  as  having  been  inhabited  by  an  eccentric  hermit, 
who,  wearied  with  the  dissipations  of  fashionable  life, 
built  here  for  himself  a  log-hut,  and  lived  in  voluntary 
solitude  until  he  was  drowned  while  bathing  in  the 
river  below.  Respecting  almost  every  prominent  point 
there  are  relations  given  of  perilous  falls,  surprising 
rescues,  and  instantaneous  deaths  that  thrill  the  listener. 
At  Hog's  Back,  in  addition  to  the  united  deaths  of  two 
lovely  young  persons  swept  over  the  middle  cataract,  a 
Dr.  Hungerford  is  said  to  have  been  suddenly  precipi- 
tated, by  a  falling  piece  of  the  cliff,  into  the  river 
below,  where  he  sunk  to  rise  no  more  alive.  Near 
Biddle  Stairs,  a  madman,  named  Sam  Patch,  leaped 
from  a  scaffold  ninety-six  feet  high,  and  afterwards 
attempting  a  more  daring  feat  still,  was  drowned.  From 
the  Irail  narrow  bridge  which  extends  from  the  south- 
west corner  of  the  island  to  Prospect  Tower,  a  gentle- 
man is  said  to  have  been  swept  by  the  wind  into  the 
current,  and  yet  to  have  been  rescued  from  an  arrestiiijj 
rock  at  the  very  brink  of  the  precipice. 

In  Indian  times  an  annual  human  sacrifice  to  the 
Great  Spirit  was  sent  over  the  great  cataract  in  a 
canoe  ;  and,  as  might  be  expected,  "  the  chief's  lovely 
daughter "  is  named  among  these  sacrifices  in  the 
legends.  Perilous  situations,  surprising  rescues,  and 
frightful  deat'is,  are  spoken  of  in  connection  with  the 
islands  in  the  Bapids.  As  late  as  1844  a  youthful 
lady,  stooping  to  pick  up  a  flower  from  the  margin  of 
the  Canadian  side  of  the  river  near  to  the  Horse-shoe 


\  \ 


848 


THE  FALLS  OF  NIAGARA. 


/ 


Fall,  is  said  to  have  been  plunged  with  tlie  crumbling 
soil  into  the  destructive  gulf  below. 

There  are  also  caves  in  different  parts  of  the  rocky 
sides  of  the  river  that  have  names  of  heroes  and  super- 
natural beings  associated  with  them.  Some  of  these 
caves  are  grotesquely  festooned  with  petrified  moss  and 
stalactites  of  carbonate  of  lime.  Others  of  them,  like 
the  "Cave  of  Winds"  behind  the  middle  Fall,  are 
fearfully  stormy  and  turbulent.  There  are  also  stories 
of  desperate  battle  between  Indians  and  Europeans, 
and  Englishmen  and  Americans,  associated  with  this 
scene ;  and  though  one  would  not  be  over  credulous, 
or  so  voluntarily  superstitious  as  to  receive  for  facts  all 
that  one  hears  in  this  locality  of  wonders,  yet  who  that 
has  any  sense  of  the  marvellous  within  him  would 
doggedly  close  his  ears  against  the  stories  of  the 
Niagara  guides  ?  It  would  strip  life  of  many  of  its 
flowers,  if  everything  were  brought  down  to  proved 
reality.  Who  would  wish  to  dissever  the  Lakes  of  Kil- 
lamey  from  the  legends  of  O'Donoghue  and  his  attend- 
ant sylphs  P  Who  would  stay  to  have  Rob  Roy's 
hiding-places  in  the  caves  around  Loch  Lomond  all 
shown  to  have  no  existence  ?  Who  would  desire  to 
have  the  beautiful  tale  of  William  Tell  proved  to  be, 
what  some  have  of  late  affirmed  it  to  be,  an  entire 
fiction? 

No ;  life  must  not  be  denuded  of  all  its  poetry,  and 
entirely  reduced  to  leaden,  dull  prose.  Niagara  may 
be  permitted  to  have  its  traditionary  legends  as  well  as 
its  authentic  stories.  But  whatever  may  be  true  or 
false  in  what  is  related  as  belonging  to  it  in  years  gone 
by,  it  is  now  in  itself,  and  apart  from  all  fictitious 
accompaniment,  a  sublime  reality. 


ibling 


rocky 
super- 
'  these 
>ss  and 
m,  like 
11,   are 
stories 
opeans, 
th  this 
idulons, 
'acts  all 
ho  that 
would 
of  the 
Y  of  its 
proved 
of  Kil- 
attend- 
>  Boy's 
ond  all 
esire  to 
to  be, 
entire 

ry,  and 
ira  may 
well  as 
true  or 
irs  gone 
ictitions 


LETTER  XX. 

CANADA.— WESLEYAN  CONFERENCE  AT  BROCKVILLE. 


Railway  from  the  Falls  along  the  Line  of  the  Niagara  River — Lake  Ontario 
— Arrival  at  Toronto — Methodist  Friends — Sabbath  Services  at  Toronto 
— Sketch  of  Toronto — Great  Normal  Schools — Dr.  Ryerson — Illness  of 
Peter  Jones,  or  "  Kahkewaquonaby,"  the  Methodist  Indian  Chief — Cana- 
dian Parliament — Mackenzie,  and  Scene  in  the  House  of  Representatives — 
Loyal  Attachment  of  Canada  to  England — Lake  Ontario,  the  "  Thousand 
Islands,"  and  the  St.  Lawrence — Arrival  at  Brockville — Proceedings  of  the 
Conference — Railways  in  Canada — Resources  and  Prosperity  of  the 
Country — Arrival  at  Montreal. 


We  left  the  Falls  for  Toronto  at  noon  of  Saturday, 
May  31,  travelling  by  the  train  as  far  as  Lewiston,  and 
from  thence  by  steamer  across  the  western  end  of  Lake 
Ontario.  When  passing  Queenoton,  seven  miles  from 
the  Falls,  we  could  see  on  its  heights  the  monument 
erected  to  the  memory  of  General  Brock,  a  British 
officer,  who  received  there  a  mortal  wound,  when,  in  1812, 
he  was  about  to  lead  his  men  to  the  conflict.  It  is  a  high 
columnar  monument,  something  like  our  Nelson's  in 
Trafalgar  Square,  and  is  of  very  recent  erection — the 
former  monument  having  been  shattered  and  destroyed 
by  some  unknown  person,  who,  in  the  night,  blew  it  up 
with  gunpowder.  It  was  interesting  to  trace  the  bed  of 
the  Niagara  Eiver  as  we  passed  along,  and  to  observe 
how  it  had  worn  its  way  through  the  strata  of  the 
country,  and  united  itself  with  the  lake. 


350 


CANADA.— CON  PERBNCB  AT  BROCK VILLB. 


On  reaching  the  pier  at  Lewiston,  we  took  the  steam- 
boat across  the  lake  to  Toronto,  a  distance  of  50  miles. 
Leaving  the  American  Niagara  Fort  on  our  right,  we 
started  in  a  "  tight "  and  commodious  vessel,  with  the 
British  flag  streaming  from  the  stern,  and  with  fifty  or 
sixty  passengers  on  board.  The  day  was  exceedingly 
fine,  and  we  enjoyed  the  lake  scenery  very  much.  Our 
company,  too,  was  more  English  than  it  had  been  since 
we  landed  in  America,  especially  in  manners.  There 
was  less  inquisitiveness,  and  less  hurry,  and  more 
sobriety  and  quietness.  After  three  hours'  passage,  we 
neared  tho  city  of  Toronto,  which  stands  at  the  head  of 
a  large  open  bay,  and,  being  met  by  ministers  and  friends 
at  our  landing,  we  drove  with  them  direct  for  the  house 
of  the  President  of  the  Canadian  Methodist  Conference, 
the  Rev.  Enoch  "Wood,  like  ourselves  a  native  of  homely 
old  Lincolnshire.  He  resides  in  a  pleasant  cottage  in 
the  upper  suburbs  of  the  city.  We  were  most  cordially 
welcomed  by  him  and  his  family,  and  it  was  proposed 
that  both  Dr.  Hannah  and  I  should  be  his  guests.  But 
a  friend  from  Dublin  soon  learned  of  our  arrival,  and 
insisted  that  I  should  accompany  her  to  her  hospitable 
home.  From  pleasing  reminiscences  relating  to  the 
"  Sister  Island,"  I  was  nowise  reluctant  to  do  so.  Dr. 
Egerton  Ryerson,  and  his  daughter,  just  returned  from 
England  (where  she  had  been  presented  to  the  Queen), 
spent  the  evening  with  us ;  and  with  such  companions, 
together  with  Mr.  Hodson,  the  intelligent  husband  of 
my  cheerful  and  youthful  hostess,  the  evening  was 
exceedingly  pleasant.  The  unexpected  meeting  with 
former  friends  in  a  far  country,  and  among  a  crowd  of 
strangers,  is  a  pleasure  that  can  only  be  estimated  from 
experience. 


1 1 


CANADA.— CONFERENCE  AT  BROCKVILLE. 


351 


Bteam- 
miles, 
fht,  we 
ith  the 
fifty  or 
jclingly 
.    Our 
n  Bince 
There 
1  more 
age,  we 
head  of 
L  friends 
le  house 
ference, 
homely 
ttage  in 
lordially 
)roposed 
8.     But 
val,  and 
spitable 
to  the 
,0.     Dr. 
ed  from 
Queen), 
anions, 
band  of 
Ing  was 
ig  with 
prowd  of 
led  from 


On  the  Sabbath  morning  Dr.  Hannah  conducted  the 
service  in  Richmond  Street  Chapel,  and  preached  to  a 
crowded  and  admiring  congregation  an  eloquent  sermon 
on  the  Priesthood  of  Christ;  it  was  full  of  divine  unction, 
and  was  delivered  with  amazing  energy  and  power. 
In  the  evening,  I  preached  to  a  multitude  in  the  same 
chapel,  and  afterwards  assisted  in  administering  to 
several  hundreds  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 
The  services  here  were  thoroughly  English  in  all 
respects.  The  chapel  is  large,  and  in  a  good  style  of 
Grecian  architecture.  It  will  hold,  I  suppose,  fifteen 
hundred  persons ;  but  it  has  one  fault — copied,  I  pre- 
sume, from  some  recent  erections  in  England :  the 
entrance  is  at  the  end  where  the  pulpit  stands,  so  that 
the  minister  is  disturbed  by  cold  draughts  of  air  from 
the  door  every  time  it  is  opened,  and  by  the  entrance 
and  exit  of  the  congregation,  while  the  worshippers  have 
their  attention  arrested  by  everything  that  transpires 
at  the  doors  in  connexion  with  persons  coming  in  late 
or  going  out  early.  Under  such  an  arrangement,  no 
Sabbath-stroller  is  likely  to  enter  the  house  of  God  to 
hear  the  saving  truths  of  the  Gospel  as  he  passes,  for  he 
would  have  to  face  the  whole  audience  to  do  so.  Nor 
can  a  mother  with  a  crying  inff  ri.  retire  without  dis- 
turbing both  the  minister  and  peopi*. . 

Dr.  Hannah  also  preached  in  the  evening  at  another 
large  Methodist  chapel  in  the  city,  and  administered 
there  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper.  "We  enjoyed 
the  day  greatly,  feeling  so  much  of  home  in  our  services. 
We  had,  too,  our  own  English  hymn-book,  unaltered 
and  unmutilated,  and  this  was  satisfactory.  The  number 
of  British  emigrants  who  gathered  round  us,  and  in- 
quired concerning  England  and  friends,  was  very  great. 


A  \ 


852 


CANADA.— CONFERENCE  AT  BROCKVILLE. 


I.v 


One  of  them  came  seventy-five  miles,  with  his  wife  and 
child,  to  have  his  last-bom  infant  baptised  by  Dr. 
Hannah.  In  the  small  vestry  of  Biohmond  Street 
Chapel  I  must  have  counted  not  less  than  twenty 
Methodists  who  had  emigrated  from  our  own  county  of 
Lincoln,  and  how  many  more  there  were  in  the  general 
congregation  who  did  not  press  into  the  crowded  vestry 
to  speak  to  me  I  cannot  say.  Most  of  them  seemed 
"  well-to-do,"  so  far  as  I  could  judge  from  appearances ; 
but  with  all  of  them  there  were  the  same  affecting 
remembrances  of  home  and  England  that  we  found  with 
English  emigrants  to  the  States.  Childhood's  home  is 
nowhere  forgotten. 

On  Monday  we  visited  the  principal  buildings  and 
institutions  in  Toronto.  Some  of  the  streets,  with  their 
shops,  will  bear  a  comparison  with  the  best  streets  in 
Liverpool,  Manchester,  or  Birmingham.  Several  of  the 
public  buildings  are  in  good  architectural  style,  and 
imposing  in  their  appearance.  The  cathedral,  and  some 
of  the  churches,  are  excellent  Gothic  structures  in  stone. 
The  Methodists  have  several  excellent  chapels,  a  well- 
furnished  book-room,  with  its  numerous  publications,  and 
a  weekly  newspaper.  The  president  has  recently  built 
a  very  neat  Gothic  chapel,  with  its  belfry  in  front,  near 
to  his  own  dwelling :  and,  altogether,  Methodism  has  a 
foremost  plrce  in  Toronto,  among  the  different  sections 
of  the  Christian  Church.  The  Koman  Catholics  are 
strong  in  the  city.  They  have  their  cathedral  and  their 
"  religious  houses,''  and  have  at  the  head  of  their  priest- 
hood a  Irench  nobleman,  who  devotes  himself  and 
property  to  the  interests  of  the  Church  of  Eome. 

We  spent  considerable  time  at  the  great  Normal 
establishment  for  th^  schools  of  Canada,  which  is  under 


)  / 


CANADA.— CONFERENCE  AT  BROCKVILLE. 


853 


B  and 
Dr. 
Street 
(fenty 
nty  of 
eneral 
vestry 
eemed 
ances ; 
fecting 
d  with 
Lome  is 

gs  and 
,h  their 
•eets  in 
1  of  the 
le,  and 
id  some 
stone, 
a  well- 
»ns,  and 
ly  built 
it,  near 
has  a 
[sections 
ics  are 
id  their 
priest- 
lelf  and 

iNormal 
IS  under 


the  able  superintendency  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Egerton  Ryer- 
son.  This  is  the  normal  college  for  all  the  grammar 
and  common  schools,  supported  by  the  Government 
throughout  Upper  and  Lower  Canada,  and  is  a  most 
effective  and  flourishing  institution.  It  is  Dr.  Ryerson's 
own  creation,  after  careful  inspection  and  comparison  of 
the  different  systems  of  education  in  Europe  and  the 
United  States,  and  must  remain  a  lasting  and  honourable 
memorial  of  his  enlightened  and  benevolent  zeal  for  the 
best  interests  of  the  youth  of  his  own  country.  The 
Government  have,  happily,  been  liberal  in  their  grants 
for  his  object ;  so  that,  in  most  respects,  the  funds  required 
for  the  accomplishment  of  his  plans  are  supplied.  The 
buildings  of  the  Normal  and  Practising  Schools,  with  the 
offices  of  the  superintendents  and  clerks,  are  in  an  ele- 
vated situation,  and  have  a  large  open  space  of  garden- 
ground  and  walks  round  them.  They  are  of  Italianised 
Grecian  style,  and  have  a  good  fa9ade  with  central 
turret,  in  connection  with  the  long  line  of  public  offices 
in  front.  The  Practising  Schools,  with  their  class-rooms 
and  theatre,  are  behind  and  in  the  wings ;  the  play- 
grounds are  in  the  open  spaces  at  the  sides. 

We  attended  the  exercises  in  the  different  de- 
partments, and  were  much  interested  with  the  order 
and  proficiency  of  the  scholars;  but,  above  all,  we 
were  delij^hted  to  see  that  coloured  children  were 
unreservedly  mingled  with  the  children  of  the  whites. 
The  school  system  pursued  is  most  like  the  national 
system  of  education  for  Ireland.  This  system  does 
not  secure  by  itself  the  religious  and  scriptural  edu- 
cation of  the  scholars,  but  in  its  present  superinten- 
dency the  practice  is  better  in  this  respect  than  the 
profession.     Dr.  Ryerson,  as  a  methodist  minister,  is 

A  A 


\v 


854 


CANADA.-CONFERENCE  AT  BROCKVILLB. 


evidently  watching  over  this  part  of  education,  and,  by 
his  own  arrangements  and  iuperintendency,  to  a  great 
and  admirable  extent  secures  it.  But  we  could  not 
help  inquiring  with  solicitude,  "How  shall  this  be 
secured  in  perpetuity,  when  it  is  not  provided  for  in  the 
system  P  " 

We  saw  several  of  the  Government  day-schools  in 
Toronto.  They  are  neat  substantial  buildings,  mostly 
of  good  white  brick,  with  stone  dressings,  and  have 
ample  playgrounds  attached  to  them. 

We  afterwards  dined  at  Dr.  Ryerson's,  and  found 
there,  at  his  friend's  house,  the  Rev.  Peter  Jones,  or 
"  Kuhkewaquonaby,"  the  Methodist  Indian  chief  who 
visited  us  in  England  some  years  ago.  He  is  thin  and 
sunken  both  in  countenance  and  body,  and  is  dying  of 
consumption.  But  love  to  Christ  and  to  the  churches 
of  England  beamed  from  his  dark  eyes,  and  irradiated 
his  tawny  face,  as  he  said  to  us,  "  Tell  my  friends  of 
England  that  I  die  triumphing  in  the  blood  of  a  cruci- 
fied Redeemer."  Dr.  Hannah  administered  the  sacra- 
ment of  the  Lord's  Supper  to  him,  to  his  wife,  and  to 
his  friends ;  and  the  solemn  service  in  the  dying  chief's 
chamber  is  truly  memorable.  With  Dr.  Ryerson,  his 
wife,  and  Dr.  Ryerson's  mother,  we  had  some  lengthened 
conversation  respecting  Peter  Jones  and  his  Christian 
course.  We  learned  that  his  father  was  a  Welshman, 
but  that  his  mother,  by  whom  he  was  brought  up,  is  so 
thorough  a  "  squaw,"  that  she  never  could  be  persuaded 
to  sleep  on  anything  but  her  own  blanket,  however  good 
or  comfortable  might  be  the  bed  in  a  house  where  she 
was  visiting  with  her  son.  Peter  was  converted  under 
the  preaching  of  a  missionary  from  the  United  States, 
as  before  related.     He  has  since  that  time  laboured  un- 


i 


CANADA.-CONPBRENCB  AT  BROCKVILLB. 


366 


id,  by 
great 
Id  not 
his  be 
in  the 

ools  in 
mostly 
1  have 

.  found 
mes,  or 
lef  who 
bin  and 
lying  of 
ihurches 
radiated 
lends  of 
a  cruci- 
sacra- 
and  to 
chief's 
son,  his 
gthened 
hristian 
Ishman, 
p,  is  so 
rsuaded 
er  good 
ere  she 
under 
States, 
ed  un- 


ceasingly for  the  temporal  and  spiritual  interests  of  his 
Indian  people,  and  has  been  employed  as  a  Methodist 
missionary  among  them.  He  has  aided  the  British 
Government  greatly  by  his  interpretations  and  by  his 
loyalty,  and  among  all  classes  he  is  held  in  high  estima- 
tion. It  is  most  probable  that  this  worthy  servant  of 
Christ  will  have  passed  to  his  eternal  reward  before  you 
receive  this  letter.* 

In  the  evening  I  went  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hodson  to 
hear  and  see  the  Canadian  representatives  in  their  own 
house  of  legislation.  The  Upper  House  was  not  assem- 
bled, but  we  went  into  the  hall,  which  is  a  good  room, 
richly  canopied  and  adorned,  and  hun^^  with  some  full- 
length  portraits  of  English  kings  and  queens.  The  Hall 
of  Representatives  is  a  large  room,  very  much  after  the 
style  of  the  old  British  House  of  Commons — the  floor 
being  devoted  to  the-  speaker  and  members,  and  the 
gallery  given  to  the  public.  Several  of  the  members 
are  of  French  descent,  as  you  will  ■  suppose,  but  the 
whole  assembly  had  a  most  English  aspect,  and  the 
gentlemanly  bearing  of  the  speaker,  and  of  the  mem- 
bers generally,  made  one  feel  it  creditable  that  they 
belonged  to  England. 

There  was  in  the  house  one  member  who  is  known  as 
an  opposing  demagogue — Mackenzie,  who  took  a  promi- 
nent part  in  the  Canadian  rebellion  of  twenty  years  ago. 
He  is  a  thin,  sharp,  ferrety-looking  man  of  more  than 
sixty  years  of  age,  and  sits  at  his  desk,  watching,  in 
Joseph-Hume-like  style,  everybody  and  everything. 
"When  any  of  the  members  on  the  Government  side  can 
retort  upon  him,  they  evidently  do  so  with  great  zest. 

*  He  died  on  Sunday,  the  29th  of  June,  in  the  fifty-fourth  year  of  hia 
age,  and  was  followed  to  his  burial  by  multitudes  of  both  rich  and  poor. 


1^  i 


J- 1 


366 


\\ 


CANADA.— CONFERENCE   AT   BilOCKVILLB. 


Some  of  them  did  so  with  considerable  effect  on  the 
evening  I  was  in  the  house.  Mackenzie  had  been 
attacking  the  Government  most  unmercifully,  and  had 
represented  it  as  a  rotten  cabbage,  which  became  only 
more  corrupt  and  offensive  by  age.  He  said  that  he 
was  the  oldest  member  in  the  house,  and  he  had  not  in 
the  whole  length  of  his  experience  known  anything  so 
nauseously  offensive  as  was  the  present  Government.  A 
member  on  the  Government  side,  by  way  of  rejoinder, 
exhibited  Mackenzie  as  an  old  rotten  cabbage,  and,  after 
showing  from  the  demagogue'*'  political  life,  that  Mac- 
kenzie had  always  been  a  corrupt  member  of  that  house, 
finished  with  the  conclusion  that,  as  he  was  the  oldest 
member  and  the  most  corrupt,  he  was,  on  his  own 
principle,  the  most  offensive.  Loud  cries  of  "Hear, 
hear ! "  from  all  sides  told  that  the  force  of  this  repartee 
was  almost  universally  felt,  and  Mackenzie  tried  to 
parry  the  effect  of  the  blow  by  pretending  to  join  in  the 
general  laugh,  and  by  exclaiming  aloud,  "  Good — very 
good ! "  but  when  his  foe  proceeded  to  administer  still 
further  castigation  by  similitudes,  and  likened  him  to  a 
fusty  old  maid  dressed  up  in  man's  clothing,  and 
bothering  everybody  with  his  ridiculous  officiousness 
and  petty  meddling,  his  face  lost  its  assumed  smiles,  and 
twitched  violently  with  chagrin.  And  when  a  French- 
man, in  broken  English,  exclaimed  aloud,  in  Macken- 
zie's own  words  and  manner,  "  Good — very  good ! " 
the  roar  of  united  laughter  was  overwhelming,  and 
the  old  man  was  for  once,  at  least,  thoroughly  put 
down. 

It  is  plain,  even  to  a  casual  observer,  that  the  policy 
now  pursued  by  England  in  granting  enlarged  freedom 
and  independent  action  to  Canada  has  worked  most  sue- 


<f 


on  the 
L  been 
id  had 
le  only 
hat  he 
.  not  in 
ling  80 
ent.   A 
joinder, 
id,  after 
it  Mac- 
t  house, 
e  oldest 
bis  own 
"  Hear, 
repartee 
tried  to 
n  in  the 
d — very 
iter  still 
im  to  a 
g,  and 
iousness 
iles,  and 
iFrench- 
acken- 
good!" 
|ng,  and 
jhly  put 

le  policy 
Ifreedom 
lost  sue- 


tain 


CANADA.— CONFERENCE  AT  BROCKVILLE. 


357 


cessfuUy  both  for  the  colony  and  for  England  itself.  That 
a  colony  can  thrive,  and  that  absolute  "independence" 
is  not  necessary  to  secure  the  prosperity  of  a  country,  is 
proved  by  the  example  of  Canada  under  the  wise  policy 
to  which  I  have  alluded.  The  governor,  on  opening 
the  present  legislative  session,  congratulated  the  colony 
00.  the  satisfactory  state  of  the  finances,  and  on  the  in- 
creasing wealth  of  the  country.  This  is  a  pleasing  con- 
trast to  the  complaints  of  debt  under  the  old  system. 
And  now,  also,  in  the  place  of  perpetual  feuds  between 
the  Upper  and  Lower  Canadians,  and  between  French, 
Irish,  and  English  settlers,  and  in  the  place  of  proposals 
and  threats  to  unite  with  the  States,  there  is  a  feeling 
of  the  very  strongest  and  most  enthusiastic  loyalty 
towards  England.  Our  sovereign  and  our  country  are 
toasted  and  lauded  wherever  they  are  named  in  Canada; 
and  in  all  respects,  so  far  as  we  can  see,  Canada  is  all 
that  one  can  reasonably  desire  a  British  colony  to  be. 
But  with  so  vast  an  extent  of  territory,  stretching,  as 
Canada  does,  over  the  broadest  part  of  North  America, 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  and  comprising  more 
ground  than  the  United  States,  it  may  to  some  minds 
seem  impossible  that  such  a  country  should  continue  to 
be  an  appendage  to  the  British  dominions ;  yet  if  the 
day  of  severance  should  come,  largely  peopled  as  Canada 
is  with  England's  sons,  and  modelled  as  it  is  upon 
English  laws  and  institutions,  the  parent  will  find  in 
her  child  her  own  image  reflected,  if  not  her  youth 
renewed. 

We  left  the  city  and  our  friends  of  Toronto,  on 
Tuesday  at  noon,  June  3rd,  by  the  steamer  which  was 
to  convey  us  over  the  length  of  Lake  Ontario,  through 
the  Thousand  Islands  and  by  the  St.  Lawrence,  to 


i! 


I 


L 


358 


CANADA.-CONFBREN0E  AT  BROOKVlLLfi. 


Brockville,  where  we  were  to  attend  the  Wesleyan 
Conference  for  "Western  Canada  on  Wednesday  morn- 
ing. The  president,  and  from  twenty  to  thirty  minis- 
ters, with  numerous  Methodist  passengers,  were  on 
board  with  us ;  and  we  had  good  opportunities  of  con- 
versing with  them  upon  both  the  country  and  its 
churches.  The  day  was  not  very  fine.  Fog  gathered 
round  us  at  times,  but  it  cleared  away  as  we  approached 
Cobourg,  where,  while  fresh  log-fuel  was  taken  in,  and 
numerous  passengers  were  exchanged,  we  could  view 
the  Victoria  "VVesIeyan  University  which  has  been  esta- 
blished there.  It  is  a  good,  substantial,  and  imposing 
structure,  with  returned  wings  at  the  sides,  and  a 
cupola  over  the  middle.  There  appears  to  be  a  consi- 
derable quantity  of  land  belonging  to  it.  With  its 
accomplished  president,  professors,  and  tutors,  it  is  a 
most  respectable  and  effective  institution.  Its  officials, 
and  other  ministers,  came  on  board  our  steamer  at 
Cobourg,  and  proved  to  be  most  interesting  companions 
and  friends. 

I  rose  before  five  o'clock  the  next  morning,  that  I 
might  view  the  "  Thousand  Isles," — as  a  number  of 
islands  extending  from  the  foot  of  Lake  Ontario, 
thirty  miles  down  the  St.  Lawrence,  are  named.  These 
islands  are,  in  reality,  more  than  1600  in  number,  and 
they  are  surpassingly  picturesque  and  lovely.  They 
are  of  various  sizes  some  containing  fifteen  acres,  and 
others  only  just  visible,  and  bearing  a  single  shrub, 
and  they  are  of  every  form  imaginable.  But  while 
richly  adorned  with  trees  and  rocks,  they  have  only  a 
slight  elevation  above  the  water.  The  scenery  of  these 
islands,  while  threading  your  way  among  them,  with 
their  varied  shapes  and  colours,  and  with  their  clear 


// 


OANADA.-CONFERENCE  AT  BROCKVILLE. 


359 


that  I 
iber  of 
•utario, 
These 
Br,  and 
They 
s,  and 
shrub, 
while 
only  a 
these 
with 
clear 


\ 


reflections  in  the  surrounding  waters,  you  feel  to  be 
exceedingly  beautiful ;  and  that  it  would  well  repay  a 
voyage  from  England  to  the  St.  Lawrence  to  gaze  upon 
such  a  sight  alone.  The  "  Thousand  Island  "  scenery  is 
more  like  Killarney  than  any  that  I  have  seen,  but  it  is 
much  more  extensive.  In  steering  through  these  isles  it 
is  an  ever-changing  vision— ct  one  time  you  are  inclosed 
in  a  narrow  channel,  then  you  see  before  you  many 
openings,  like  so  many  noble  rivers  flowing  in  different 
directions,  and  immediately  afterwards  you  are  sur- 
rounded on  every  side  as  by  a  spacious  lake. 

We  arrived  at  Brockville  by  nine  o'clock  on  Wed- 
nesday morning,  and,  with  several  other  ministers 
attending  the  Canadian  Conference,  we  were  very  hos- 
pitably entertained  at  the  house  of  Mr.  John  Boss. 
In  another  hour  we  went  to  the  Wesleyan  chapel, 
where,  among  the  numbers  of  our  brethren  who  were 
gathering  from  Western  Canada,  we  recognised  some 
whom  we  had  known  in  our  own  country.  Brockville 
is  a  homely  sort  of  town  on  the  northern  bank  of  the 
River  St.  Lawrence.  Neither  the  town  nor  the  Wes- 
leyan chapel  is  large  ;  but  Methodism  flourishes  among 
the  inhabitants,  and  Brockville  is  prosperous,  and  it 
may  be  judged  that  it  is  central  from  the  fact  of  the 
Conference  for  Western  Canada  being  held  here. 

The  president,  with  his  co-delegates,  the  Rev.  John 
Ryerson  and  the  Rev.  Richard  Jones,  with  Dr.  E.  Ryer- 
son.  Dr.  Green,  and  ourselves,  sat  within  the  communion- 
rails,  and  the  ministers  generally  filled  the  pews  on  the 
ground-floor.  The  ministers  were  about  150  in  number, 
and  bore  a  very  respectable  appearance.  There  were 
more  young  and  middle-aged  men,  proportionably,  than 
are  seen  in  our  own  Conference,  or  than  we  had  seen 


360 


CANADA— CONFERENCE  AT  BROCK VILLB. 


in  the  General  Conference  of  Delegates  at  Indianapolis. 
The  aspect  was  more  like  that  of  a  meeting  of  ministers 
for  a  large  district,  such  as  London  or  Manchester ;  but 
it  was  thoroughly  English  in  character. 

We  were  most  kindly  and  respectfully  introduced  by 
the  president,  and  most  cordially  received  and  wel- 
comed by  the  brethren.  Dr.  Hannah  and  I  addressed 
the  Conference  on  the  fraternal  regard  in  which  they 
were  held  by  the  English  Methodists,  and  we  re- 
ported to  them  the  state  of  our  churches  and  insti- 
tutions in  England.  We  felt  immediately  at  home 
with  our  Canadian  brethren;  so  much  so,  that  we 
at  times,  almost  unavoidably,  took  part  in  their  delibe- 
rations. 

The  only  election  to  be  made  for  the  organisation  of 
the  Conference,  was  that  of  one  secretary.  This  was 
soon  done  ;  and  here,  as  in  the  States,  such  an  election 
is  not  made  so  much  of  as  with  us  in  the  English 
Conference.  The  secretaryship  is  regarded  almost 
entirely  as  a  business  office,  and  does  not  bring  the 
holder  into  such  close  alliance  with  the  president  as 
it  does  with  us.  The  business  of  the  Canadian  Con- 
ference was  conducted  in  an  orderly  and  able  man- 
ner ;  the  brethren  discussed  their  subjects  freely, 
often  displaying  considerable  logical  and  rhetorical 
power;  and  the  president,  with  his  co-delegates,  gave 
good  and  weighty  counsels.  The  only  question  I 
had  of  the  entire  wisdom  and  propriety  of  their  pro- 
ceedings was  in  reference  to  their  reception  of  ministers 
who  are  advanced  in  years  from  other  parts.  Their 
temptation  to  this  is  great ;  for  with  them  "  the  harvest 
truly  is  great,  while  the  labourers  are  few."  But  their 
practice  of  receiving  ministers  of  more  than  forty  yeara 


;...l 


// 


CANADA.— CONFERENCE  AT  BROCKVILLE. 


361 


\ 


of  age,  with  their  families,  while  it  evinces  self-forget- 
ful zeal  on  the  part  of  the  Conference,  may — and  I 
should  say  must — ere  long,  prove  oppressive  upon  the 
connexional  funds.  "We  spoke  upon  this  both  in  and 
out  of  the  Conference,  and  we  were  glad  to  observe  that 
many  of  the  most  influential  ministers  are  awake  to 
this  danger. 

In  the  evening  Dr.  Hannah  preached,  by  request, 
before  the  Conference,  on  the  prophetical  investigation 
of  the  sufferings  of  Christ,  and  the  glory  that  shall 
follow.  He  was  not  free  from  the  effects  of  past  excite- 
ment and  over-labour,  and  I  feared  the  consequences  of 
the  services  upon  him ;  but  he  preached  like  an  apostle, 
with  all  the  fervour  and  glow  of  his  own  manner,  and 
his  ministration  was  exceedingly  refreshing  to  us  all. 
Next  morning  we  took  formal  leave  of  the  Conference, 
exchanging  the  most  tender  and  affectionate  salutations 
and  greetings ;  and  bore  away,  from  the  crowd  that 
thronged  about  us  in  the  chapel  to  bid  us  farewell, 
many  a  token  and  message  of  love  to  parents,  brothers, 
and  sisters  in  England.  The  Rev.  John  Ryerson  and 
Dr.  Green  accompanied  us  to  the  railway-station,  and 
at  twelve  at  noon  we  left  Brockville  by  the  train  for 
Montreal. 

By  taking  this  route  we  missed,  to  our  great  regret, 
the  sight  of  the  Shooting  Rapids  on  the  River  St.  Law- 
rence ;  but  we  saw  what  we  most  desired  to  see — the 
character  and  state  of  the  land  in  Canada,  with  its 
various  classes  of  settlers  and  cultivators.  The  country 
through  which  we  passed  very  much  resembled  what 
we  had  seen  in  some  of  the  more  westerly  States  of  the 
Union.  The  land  appeared  to  be  good,  and  was  largely 
cleared  in  some  parts ;    while  in  others  the  original 


I J 


862 


\  \ 


CANADA.— CONFERENCE  AT  BROCKVILLB. 


y^ 


forest-trees  remained,  and  near  to  them  was  the  log- 
cabin  surrounded  with  black  burnt  stumps, — the  proofs 
that  clearance  had  only  recently  begun.  The  country 
had,  decidedly,  a  more  English  aspect  than  the  new 
lands  of  the  United  States ;  and  the  settlers  looked,  in 
figure,  countenance,  and  dress,  as  well  as  in  their  asso- 
ciated gear  of  agricultural  teams  and  instruments, 
more  like  British  husbandmen.  On  the  whole,  I  should 
say  that  a  finer  or  more  promising  country  than 
Canada  cannot  anywhere  be  found.  Taking  into  ac- 
count its  climate,  soil,  wood,  mineral  treasures,  rivers, 
lakes,  railway  conveyances,  and  quickly  advancing 
towns  and  cities,  we  may  feel  ourselves  warranted  in 
concluding  that  Canada  is  destined  to  become  oi^e  of 
the  first  countries  in  the  world.  i  * 

Within  the  last  seven  years  it  has  doubled  its  popu- 
lation, while  the  gross  revenue  of  the  colony  has  in  that 
period  been  quadrupled.  Some  of  the  cities  and  towns 
have  advanced  in  a  still  higher  ratio.  The  city  of 
Toronto  had,  in  1830,  scarcely  5000  inhabitants;  it 
now  contains  more  than  50,000  souls,  and  its  assessed 
property  is  valued  at  full  four  millions  of  pounds  sterling. 
The  railways  and  their  telegraphic  wires  are  crossing 
and  intersecting  the  country  in  all  directions.  At 
present  there  are  more  than  800  miles  of  railway  in  , 
use,  and  preparations  are  making  for  opening  within 
the  year  250  miles  more,  or  what  is  called  the  "  Great 
Trunk  Line,"  and  which,  by  a  colossal  tubular  bridge 
a  mile  and  a  half  long  over  the  St.  Lawrence  at  Mon- 
treal, will  connect  the  large  and  increasing  traffic  be- 
tween Canada  and  the  United  States.  Then  there  is 
the  great  highway  on  the  water,  from  the  estuary  of 
the  St.  Lawrence  at  Quebec  to  the  upper  lakes  :  indeed, 


;/ 


/'>< 


CANADA— CONFERENCE  AT  BROCKVILLB. 


363 


le  log- 
I  proofs 
lountry 
le  new 
>ked,  in 
ir  asso- 
iments, 

should 
y  than 
nto  ac- 

rivers, 
vrancing 
nted  in 

one  of 

s  popu- 
I  in  that 
d  towns 
city  of 
mts;  it 
ssessed 
terling. 
rossing 
At 
way  in 
within 
1"  Great 
bridge 
t  Mon- 
,ffic  be- 
here  is 
ary  of 
indeed, 


the  facilities  of  the  country  for  transit,  agriculture, 
mining,  trade,  and  merchandise,  seem  to  be  boundless ; 
and,  ultimately,  Canada  must  assert  its  claim  to  be 
classed  among  the  most  wealthy  and  flourishing  por- 
tions of  the  globe. 

With  the  river  on  our  right,  as  an  interesting  com- 
panion for  several  miles  as  we  rushed  along,  we  ad- 
vanced towards  Montreal.  We  reached  it  at  four  in 
*he  afternoon,  and  drove  to  the  St.  Lawrence  Hotel, 
where  we  obtained  a  two-bedded  lodging-room  for  the 
night.  We  went  out  to  look  at  the  town  until  dinner- 
time, and  got  a  fair  general  idea  of  it.  Montreal  is  a 
large,  fine  city,  stretching  along  the  side  of  the  river 
about  two  miles,  and  extending  inwards,  up  a  sloping 
acclivity,  a  mile  and  a  half.  Paul  Street,  the  chief 
commercial  thoroughfare,  runs  parallel  to  the  St.  Law- 
rence for  the  whole  length  of  the  city.  There  are 
several  good  squares  and  places  of  promenade.  The 
quay  at  the  river-side,  a  full  mile  in  length,  by  its 
situation  and  masonry  may  be  favourably  compared 
with  any  structure  of  the  kind  in  England.  There  are 
some  large,  fine  public  buildings.  The  churches  are 
good.  There  is  a  very  handsome  Gothic  Methodist 
chapel  in  James  Street,  which  will  hold,  I  should  say, 
1500  persons. 

But  the  most  pretentious  structure  is  the  French 
Boman  Catholic  cathedral.  It  is  said  to  be  capable  of 
accommodating  from  ten  to  twelve  thousand  persons — 
a  report  which,  from  experience  of  the  exaggeration 
so  customary  in  speaking  of  public  buildings,  and  the 
number  they  will  hold,  I  should  translate  into  five  or 
six  thousand  at  the  most.  This  cathedral  is  of  flat, 
pasteboard,  Gothic  style,  outside,  with  high  towers  ;  but 


!i 


364 


CANADA.-CONFERENCB   AT  BROCKVILLE. 


'/ 


inside  (like  the  Eomisli  Church  itself),  it  has  nothing 
worth  admiration.  Here,  too,  as  in  the  cities  of  the 
United  States,  the  Romish  cathedral  is  pewed,  and  has 
no  open  space  left,  as  in  Europe,  for  the  kneeling  poor. 
The  town,  in  many  parts,  bears  unmistakeable  signs  of 
Koman  Catholic  inhabitants.  It  has  several  religious 
houses  and  schools ;  and  in  the  lower  parts  there  are 
crowded  together  the  poorer  classes  of  French  people, 
not  the  most  cleanly  in  their  persons  and  dwellings. 

There  are  many  large  handsome  houses  in  the  great 
streets  and  in  the  suburbs ;  also  an  English  university, 
a  college,  and  numerous  institutions  for  the  promotion 
of  learning,  science,  and  religion.  There  is,  likewise, 
a  marble  monument  of  Nelson ;  but  it  is  much  shattered 
and  broken.  The  population  of  the  city  of  Montreal 
was  9000  in  the  year  1800 ;  now  it  is  75,000,  and  it 
is  rapidly  on  the  increase.  The  aggregate  value  of 
the  real  estate  of  the  city  is  estimated  this  year  at 
£6,391,333,  and  the  total  revenue  at  £71,258 ;  so  that 
Montreal  is  now  a  city  of  extensive  and  increasing  mer- 
chandise and  trade.  With  the  exception  of  half  an 
hour  for  dining,  we  spent  our  hours  till  bed-time  in 
looking  over  the  town,  and,  as  you  will  suppose,  found 
in  it  much  to  interest  us. 


// 


nothing 
!S  of  the 
and  has 
ng  poor, 
signs  of 
religious 
here  are 
1  people, 
ings. 
the  great 
liversity, 
romotion 
likewise, 
shattered 
Montreal 
},  and  it 
value  of 

year  at 
;  so  that 
ling  mer- 

half  an 
[-time  in 

io,  found 


LETTER  XXI. 


LAKE  CIIAMPLAIN,  BOSTON,  AND  ALBANY. 


Departure  from  Montreal — Railway-ticket  Sharpers — Beauty  of  Lake  Champ- 
lain — Town  of  Burlington — Brief  Separation  from  Dr.  Hannah — State 
of  Massachusets — Glance  at  its  History — Its  English  Features — Boston 
— Sketch  of  the  City — Wooden  Bridges — State-House — Chantrey's  Statue 
of  Washington — Faneuil  Hall  —  Ancient  "Timber  Houses" — Public 
Buildings  and  Monuments — Ascendancy  of  Uuitarianism — Theodore  Parker 
— Departure  from  Boston — The  Infidel  in  the  Rt\ilway-car — Striking 
Scenery  —  Albany  —  Descripti-^u  of  the  City — Churches  and  Sects — 
The  Shakers — Sabbath  in  Albany. 


We  left  Montreal  on  Friday  morning,  the  6th  of  June, 
at  six  o'clock, — Dr.  Hannah  intending  to  re^t  for  a  day  or 
two  at  Rhinebeck,  while  I  turned  aside  to  see  Boston 
and  Albany,  and  then  returned  with  him  to  New  York. 
I  had  very  much  desired  to  visit  Quebec,  having  heard 
much  of  the  advantages  of  its  position,  and  the  gran- 
deur of  its  surrounding  scenery.  The  doctor,  however, 
evidently  felt  some  effects  of  our  long  travel  and  con- 
tinuous excitement;  and  having  become  fully  accustomed 
to  each  other's  company,  I  resolved  not  to  remain  so  far 
behind,  but  to  journey  with  him  as  far  as  Rutland,  at 
which  point  we  might  separate  more  safely  for  a  day 
or  two,  knowing  that,  meantime,  we  should  not  be 
far  from  each  other. 

The  morning  was  fine,  and  I  rose  from  my  bed  in  a 


366 


vv 


LAEB  OHAMPLAIN,  BOSTON,  AND  ALBANY. 


thankful  frame,  for  it  was  the  anniversary  of  my  birth- 
day. But  as  soon  as  we  reached  the  quay  to  cross  the 
river  for  the  Rutland  Bailway,  we  met  with  considerable 
discomfort.  A  crowd  of  eager,  bawling  ticket-sellers 
surrounded  us,  contending  for  us  as  purchasers  of  rail- 
way tickets,  which  they  said  we  could  not  obtain  after 
we  left  Montreal.  Many  of  our  fellow-passengers,  either 
on  the  ferry- steamer  or  the  quay,  saw  how  much  we 
were  annoyed  and  perplexed,  yet  allowed  us  to  stand 
and  reluctantly  buy  our  tickets  of  these  contentious 
sharpers  at  any  price  they  chose  to  demand.  Not  a 
word  was  spoken  for  our  counsel  or  relief  by  our  fellow- 
passengers,  though  they  knew  that  tickets  might  be 
had  either  on  board  as  we  crossed  the  river,  or  of  the 
conductor  in  the  railway-car.  We  purchased  our  tickets 
of  the  salesmen  on  the  quay,  at  the  lowest  price  we 
could  obtain  them  for,  and  went  on  board  the  steamer, 
in  which  we  were  to  cross  the  River  St.  Lawrence  for 
the  train  waiting  to  receive  us  on  the  other  side. 

On  being  seated  in  the  railway-car,  it  occurred  to  me 
that  our  bill  of  charges  at  the  hotel  was  very  high, 
considering  the  brief  time  we  had  stayed  at  Montreal. 
On  examination  I  found  that  full  three-quarters  of  a 
day  each  more  than  was  due  was  set  down  to  us.  This 
increased  our  annoyance,  and  the  more  so  because  it 
was  the  first  overcharge  we  had  detected  since  we  left 
home  (except  in  the  hiring  of  coaches),  and  it  had 
occurred  in  the  British  dominions.  We  felt  our  British 
character  involved  in  it,  and  I  immediately  pencilled  a 
note  to  the  proprietor  of  the  hotel,  enclosing  the  bill, 
and  pointing  out  the  overcharge,  which  I  hoped  was 
the  clerk's  error,  and  which  I  requested  he  would  remit 
to  me  in  dollar  notes.    Having  done  this,  we  deter- 


T  I 


LAKE  OIIAMPLAIN,  BOSTON,  AND  ALB  ANT. 


367 


/  birtli- 
*oss  the 
Iderable 
t-sellers 
of  rail- 
in  after 
3,  either 
luch  we 
o  stand 
tentious 
Not  a 
r  fellow- 
light  be 
r  of  the 
ir  tickets 
price  we 
steamer, 
tence  for 

5. 

id  to  me 

y  high, 

[ontreal. 

iT8  of  a 
This 

[cause  it 

we  left 

it  had 

British 

Icilled  a 
the  bill, 
)ed  was 

Id  remit 
deter- 


mined to  rise  above  our  annoyances,  so  resumed  our 
spirits,  and  prepared  for  the  enjoyment  of  the  scenery 
in  our  way.* 

We  passed  over  forty  or  fifty  miles  of  cultivated 
prairie  land,  between  the  Montreal  ferry  and  Rouse's 
Point,  which  is  at  the  head  of  Lake  Champlain,  and 
immediately  on  the  border  line  between  the  United 
States  and  Canada.  Here  we  crossed  the  lake  in  the 
railway-car  over  an  unfenced  timber  bridge,  and  ran 
several  miles  down  on  the  east  side  of  the  water  to 
Burlington,  crossing  the  several  creeks  and  bays  of  the 
lake  also  on  wooden  supporters.  We  might  have  gone 
down  the  lake  in  a  steamer,  and  landed  at  Burlington 
to  take  the  rail,  if  we  had  not  been  perplexed  and  con- 
founded at  starting  by  the  ticket-sellers.  If  we  had 
done  so,  we  should  have  seen  more  of  the  beauty  and 
expanse  of  the  lake,  and  of  the  charms  of  its  lovely 
islands.  But  as  we  had  bought  our  tickets  for  the 
railway  we  went  upon  it,  and  the  prospect  afforded  from 
it  was  very  pleasing  and  beautiful.  Lake  Champlain  is 
132  miles  long,  and  at  Burlington,  the  widest  part 
unobstructed  by  islands,  it  is  nearly  ten  miles  across. 
It  varies  in  depth  from  fifty  to  nearly  three  hundred 
feet.  Its  shores  are  richly-wooded,  and  are  surrounded 
by  lofty  Cumberland-like  mountains.  Many  of  these 
heights  have  an  historic  interest  from  the  skirmishes 
and  battles  that  were  perseveringly  sustained  in  them. 

Burlington  seems  to  be  a  town  of  importance,  both  in 
learning  and  trade.  The  University  of  Vermont, 
founded  as  early  as  1791,  is  here,  with  its  president  and 
five  professors,  and  its  library  of  10,000  volumes.     It  is 

*  Since  our  return  home  the  overcharge  has  been  returned  to  us,  thereby 
showing  that  it  was  a  clerk's  error  only. 


8G8 


LAKB  CIIAMPf-AIN,  D08T0N.  AND  ALDANY. 


(situated  on  a  rising  ground,  at  about  the  middle  of  the 
east  side  of  the  lake,  on  one  of  its  larger  bays,  and  li 
some  good  streets  intersecting  cuch  other,  and  regularly 
laid  out.  Steamboats  and  i  ivor-craft  are  plentiful  on  the 
water  in  front  of  it.  On  leaving  Burlington  by  the 
train,  we  still  kept  near  to  the  lake  for  an  hour  and  a 
half,  as  far  as  Vorgonnes.  From  that  town  we  took  a 
direction  somewhat  more  inclined  to  the  east  for  Hut- 
land,  where  Dr.  Hannah  and  I  separated  for  a  shi^rt 
time — the  doctor  going  on  south  to  Albany  for  tli-  nl^'it, 
and  from  thence  to  llhinebeck  the  next  mornin'.v,  ^hile 
I  went  south-east  to  Boston.  The  sronc'.  while  we 
were  together,  was  highly  picturesque.  -  (  » ery  much 
resembled  some  parts  of  the  "Welsh  scenery  in  its  gorges, 
mountain  passes,  and  valley  streams.  But  all  the 
scenery,  both  of  hills  and  valleys,  was  richly  wooded,  of 
a  light  pea- green  colour. 

When  the  doctor  and  I  separated,  I  journeyed  on 
by  rail  to  Keene.  The  scenery  continued  to  be  very 
delightful ;  some  of  the  rocks  and  cascades  pouring  from 
them  were  strikingly  picturesque.  After  this  I  entered 
the  State  of  Massachusets,  and  proceeded  towards 
Boston,  which  I  reached  about  nine  in  the  evening, 
having  travelled  in  fifteen  hours  about  330  miles.  I 
obtained  good  accommodation  at  "  The  American 
House,"  and,  after  a  comfortable  meal  and  a  brief  stroll 
through  the  town,  retired  to  bed.  ,  ,.  p: 

Massachusets  is  one  of  +he  oldest,  wealthiest,  best- 
cultivate!,  and  most  influonti;u  Htntes  of  t^-^  Union.  It 
is  small  in  comparison  ^  Mi  ^jOij  other  states ;  but  it  is 
rich  in  iron,  lead,  marble,  and  limestone,  as  well  as  in 
the  varieties  of  its  soil.  It  is  also  advantageously  posited, 
with  its  fine  bays  and  ports  on  the  east  coast,  while  it  is 


LAKE  CIIAMPLAIN,   D08T0N,  AND  ALBANY. 


36a 


of  the 
,nd  li 
gularly 
1  on  the 

by  the 
ir  and  a 
e  took  a 
for  Rut- 

a  sh'  it 

K;  niffi,  ill 

rr,  while 
^rhile  we 
ry  much 
s  gorges, 
all  the 
ooded,  of 

leyed  on 
be  very 

ing  from 
entered 
towards 

1  evening, 
liles.  I 
imerican 

[ief  stroll 

^st,  best- 

liun.     It 

but  it  is 

lell  as  in 
posited, 
fhile  it  is 


well  watered  by  its  rivers  within.  Of  Into  y^sars  the 
maiiuftictures  of  this  State  have  risen  to  conw^le^able 
importance.  Farms  are  numerous,  in  proportion  to  the 
extei  ♦^  of  the  .^liitc,  and  aro  well  cultivated.  The  roads 
are  good  and  well  fenced,  the  gardens  ar'd  oruhunlH  are 
trimly  kept,  and,  altogether,  au  English  truvcUor  * 
more  reminded  of  his  own  country  in  passing  throujt 
Massachusets,  by  its  enclosed  fie  ids,  Hocks  of  whoip, 
blooming  orchards,  and  flowery  )2;arden8,  than  ho  is  by 
what  he  sees  in  any  other  Stutte.  8o  that  he  is  fully 
reconciled  to  the  use  of  the  name  given  by  Prinr 
Charles  to  this  and  the  five  adjoining  States  eastv  urd  oi 
the  Hudson  River,  that  of  "  New  England." 

I  need  scarcely  say  to  you  that  in  this  State  is  the 
landing-place  of  the  "  Pilgrim  Fi  thers,"  who,  after  their 
long  and  perilous  voyage  in  the  3JapJlower  (fleeing  from 
the  persecution  of  the  first  Stuart),  reached  its  shores  on 
December  22,  1620,  and  founded  thotown  of  Plymouth. 
Their  early  struggles  in  the  establishment  of  their  infant 
colony  are  familiar  to  you.  Massachusets,  in  the 
beginning,  seems  to  have  borne  very  much  of  the 
character  of  its  Puritan  founders.  Its  laws  were  most 
unjustifiably  strict  for  mere  private  and  domestic  faults, 
and  it  was  disgraced  by  its  cruel  persecution  of  the 
Quakers,  and  its  barbarous  burnings  lor  "  witchcraft." 
It  seems  to  have  been  involved  with  the  other  States  in 
the  guilt  of  slavery,  and  to  have  advertised  for  sale  not 
only  negroes  and  Indians,  but  also  Irish  and  Guernsey 
boys  and  girls.  It  also  committed  some  sad  depredations 
upon  the  Indian  possessors  of  the  soil.  One  is  happy  to 
say  that  Massachusets,  like  some  other  parts  of  Chris- 
tendom, has  now  cleared  itself  of  many  errors  which 
lingered  too  long,  and  that  it  is  now  foremost  of  all  the 

B  B 


t.i 


.1! 


370 


^  ( 


LAKE  CHAMPLAIN,  BOSTON,  AND  ALBANY. 


States  in  the  promotion  of  benevolent  and  mon  1  scliemes 
for  the  advantage  of  the  coloured  race  and  the  aborigines, 
as  well  as  of  its  own  population. 

Before  the  revolution  of  1776,  Massachusets  had 
virtually  abolished  slavery  in  its  own  territory,  and  now 
not  only  are  the  coloured  people  within  it  all  free,  but 
possess  equal  electoral  rights  with  the  white  inhabitants. 
It  has  also  its  organised  Abolition  Society,  which  is 
zealous  and  active.  Eliot  and  Brainerd  were  mis- 
sionaries to  the  Indians  from  New  England  ;  and,  at  the 
present  time,  not  only  is  Massachusets  the  richest  of 
all  the  States  in  its  provision  of  university  and  college 
education  for  the  youth  of  the  wealthier  classes,  but  it  has 
public  schools  which  are  said  to  be  fully  adequate  to  the 
wants  of  all  the  children  within  it.  There  is,  however, 
one  drawback  to  its  public  reputation,  and  that  is  a  very 
serious  one ;  it  is  foremost  in  the  profession  of  Pantheism, 
and  of  the  Socinian  heresy.  Next  to  the  Presbyterian 
and  Baptist  Churches,  the  Unitarians  are  most  numerous, 
while  the  Universalists  have  also  many  supporters 
within  the  State.  The  people,  generally,  seem  cold  and 
phlegmatic.  There  is  a  hard,  stern,  Scotchman-like 
look  and  bearing  in  their  demeanour  that  differs  as 
greatly  from  the  sunlike  glow  of  the  luxurious  and  hos- 
pitable South-rner  as  it  does  from  the  impulsive,  go-a- 
head recklessness  of  the  onward-bound  Westerner. 

Boston  is  the  capital  of  Massachusets  (as  the  abori- 
ginal Indian  tribe  after  whom  it  was  named  called 
themselves),  and  the  metropolis  of  New  England.  It 
was  first  described  by  an  Indian  name  which  signified 
"the  hill  with  three  tops,"  and  which  was  Englished 
into  "  Trimountain,"  or  "  Trement,"  but  afterwards,  in 
honour  of  a  minister  and  some  emigrants  from  Boston, 


, 


LAKE  CHAMPLAIN,  BOSTON,  AND  ALBANY. 


371 


jlieines 
■igines, 

its  had 

nd  now 

pee,  but 

.bitants. 

?liich  is 

re  mis- 

a,  at  the 

chest  of 

1  college 

)ut  it  has 

lie  to  the 

however, 
is  a  very 

Btntheism, 

sbyterian 

lumerous, 

upporters 
cold  and 
iman-like 
differs  as 
and  hos- 
ive,  go-a- 
•ner. 

the  abori- 
led  called 
rland.  It 
signified 
[Englished 
[•wards,  in 
|m  Boston, 


in  Lincolnshire,  it  was  authoritatively  determined  to 
designate  it  by  its  present  name — the  emigrant's  feeling 
for  his  native  place  being  strong  then,  as  it  is  now.  It 
is  on  record  that  the  first  three  children  baptised  in  the 
church  of  Boston  were  named  "  Joy,"  "  Recompence," 
and  "  Pity,"  by  way  of  memento,  no  doubt,  as  in  patri- 
archal and  Jewish  days,  of  the  state  and  circumstances 
of  the  parents.  The  city  is  now  large,  handsome,  and 
prosperous.  It  contained  at  the  last  census  1C2,629 
inhabitants.  It  is  older  in  appearance  than  any  other 
city  of  the  States  which  I  have  seen,  and  is  less  regular 
and  methodical  in  its  plan  and  thoroughfares.  But  it 
has  a  substantial,  well-established  look  throughout,  and, 
like  the  State  of  which  it  is  the  capital,  is  very  English 
in  character.  Boston  stands  on  a  kind  of  peninsula, 
and  when  seen  from  the  water,  with  its  rising  terraces, 
streets,  and  domes,  like  Baltimore,  it  reminds  one  of 
pictures  of  Constantinople  seen  from  the  Bosphorus. 
One  of  the  remarkable  sights  here  consists  in  the  long 
wooden  bridges  which  connect  the  city  with  the  sur- 
rounding country.  Some  of  these  are  as  much  as  6000 
feet  long,  and  40  feet  wide.  They  rest  upon  hundreds 
of  piers,  and  at  night  are  lighted  with  numerous  lamps, 
that  seem  doubled  bv  reflection  in  the  water.  Here  are 
numerous  wharves,  with  large,  handsome  warehouses 
upon  them,  capacious  docks,  and  shipping  so  extensive 
as  to  rank  next  to  that  which  is  seen  in  the  harbour  of 
New  York. 

The  State-House,  and  other  public  buildings,  are  on 
the  crown  of  Beacon  Hill,  in  front  of  which,  on  one 
side,  is  a  large  park  for  the  use  of  the  public — "  Boston 
Common,"  as  it  is  usually  called ;  and  on  the  other,  is 
the  huge  reservoir  for  the  supply  of  the  city  with  fresh 


l|IIUt.H 


\  \ 


I  '1 


373 


LAKE  CHAMPLAIN,  BOSTON,  AND  ALBANY. 


water.  The  principal  street  for  stores  of  light  and 
fashionable  goods  is  a  long  street  named  after  Wash- 
ington, in  the  lower  part  of  the  city;  but  the  most 
elegant  shops  for  ladies  are  those  of  Tremont  Row, 
which  is  in  the  higher  part,  leading  to  the  park.  The 
business  in  heavy  goods,  which  of  course  is  great,  is 
transacted  near  the  wharves.  The  private  residences  in 
Boston  are  good  and  substantial,  and  are  almost  wholly 
of  stone  or  brick.  Many  of  them,  with  their  granite 
basement  and  steps,  their  tasteful  porticoes,  balconies, 
and  palisades,  are  stately  and  imposing.  The  impression 
made  by  the  whole,  whether  in  the  throng  of  the  city, 
or  in  its  suburbs,  is  that  of  wealth  divided  and  diffused 
among  the  many,  and  not  amassed  and  possessed  by 
the  few.  There  are  no  huge  mansions,  but  there  are 
numerous  good  and  elegant  houses,  with  their  garden 
plots  and  trees  before  or  around  them;  and  almost 
everywhere  but  in  the  lowest  parts  of  the  town,  there  is 
an  air  of  cleanliness  and  solid  comfort  beyond  what  can 
be  found,  so  far  as  I  have  observed,  in  the  other  large 
cities  of  the  States. 

The  public  buildings  are  large  and  respectable.  The 
State-House  stands  on  the  highest  point ;  and  is  seen, 
with  its  well-proportioned  dome,  as  a  crowning  orna- 
ment of  the  city  from  every  point  of  view.  It  is  a 
good  structure,  and  is  something  after  the  form  of  the 
Capitol  in  the  city  of  Washington ;  only,  it  is  coloured 
as  stone,  instead  of  being  whitened  as  marble.  It  is 
approached  by  a  lofty  flight  of  steps.  Both  the  Senate 
Chamber  and  the  Hall  of  Representatives  are  fitted  up 
with  semicircular  and  gradually  elevated  desks,  fronting 
the  chair  of  the  speaker — the  arrangement  common 
to  all  the  legislative  halls  of  America.     It  is,  in  fact, 


LAKB  OHAMPLATN,   BOSTON,  AND  ALBANY. 


373 


bt  and 
Wasli- 
,e  most 
t  Row, 
:.     The 
;reat,  is 
3nces  in 
I  wholly 
granite 
ilconies, 
pression 
the  city, 
diffused 
3ssed  by 
here  are 
r  garden 
I   almost 
,  there  is 
jsrhat  can 
ler  large 

e.    The 
is  seen, 
Qg  orna- 
It  is  a 
n  of  the 
coloured 
It  is 
le  Senate 
fitted  up 
fronting 
common 
in  fact, 


e. 


the  model  of  the  old  Greek  theatre,  if  you  imagine  a 
stage  in  place  of  the  speaker's  chair ;  and  undoubtedly 
combines  more  advantages  for  both  seeing  and  hearing 
than  any  other  form  that  could  be  followed. 

In  u  recess  farthest  from  the  door  of  the  grand 
entrance  to  the  State- House,  is  an  exquisitely  beautiful 
statue  of  Washington,  executed  by  Chantrey,  in  the 
very  best  style  of  his  art.  This  is  the  statue  of  Wash- 
ington :  the  face,  the  form,  the  calm  and  dignified 
intelligence,  the  conscious  strength  and  serenity  em- 
bodied to  the  eye  in  the  marble — seem  a  full  reali- 
sation of  the  mind's  ideal  of  skill  and  courage,  goodness 
and  greatness.  Near  to  the  State-House  is  the  tenement 
formerly  occupied  by  John  Hancock,  one  of  the  leaders 
in  the  revolution,  and  whose  name  stands  first  among 
the  signatures  to  the  "  Declaration  of  Independence." 
The  building  is  still  occupied  by  his  descendants ;  and 
is  not  much  unlike  an  English  village  parsonage  of  the 
olden  time. 

The  "  City  Hall "  and  "  Faneuil  Hall "  are  both  large 
old  buildings.  The  latter  is  regarded  as  "  the  cradle  of 
American  liberty,"  for  in  it  the  first  strugglers  for  in- 
dependence assembled  to  rouse  the  people  into  resistance 
against  the  British  Government.  There  are  also  a  few 
old  "  timber-houses  "  of  the  Elizabethan  order,  hanging 
awry  with  their  wooden  projecting  stories  and  gables. 
So  that  the  city  of  Boston  bears  more  of  the  signs  of 
antiquity  than  any  other  city  of  the  United  States. 
There  is  a  public  museum  in  Tremont  Street  that  pro- 
mises much  by  its  outside  appearance,  but  greatly 
disappoints  an  English  visitor,  who,  on  entering,  sees 
only  a  strange  jumble  of  wax- works,  paintings,  engrav- 
ings, casts  from  statuary,  and  Indian  clothing  and 


Mmmmmm 


■■B 


374  LAKE  CHAMPLAIN,  BOSTON,  AND  ALBANY. 

weapons  of  war.  There  are  some  large  churches  and 
lecture  halls  in  Boston  ;  and  several  imposing  structures 
belonging  to  literary,  scientific,  and  philanthropic  insti- 
tutions. 

The  appearance  of  the  people  is,  in  general,  American. 
The  men  are  tall  and  thin,  with  bilious  complexions, 
serious  countenances,  and  straight  hair,  having  a  puri- 
tanical cast.  They  are,  for  the  most  part,  well-dressed, 
without  show  or  dandyism :  and  have  less  hurry  and 
bustle  in  their  movements  than  you  see  in  New  York 
and  Philadelphia.  The  women  may  not  vie  with  the 
"Baltimore  beauties;"  but  they  have  truer  taste  and 
less  gaudiness  in  their  dresses,  and  there  is  a  quiet 
air  of  superiority  evident  in  both  their  gait  and  look. 
No  one  professes  aristocracy  in  Boston,  yet  there  is 
said  to  be  a  talk  of  "the  best  circles;"  and  there  is 
more  reserve  of  look  and  manners  in  this  "  Athens  of 
the  West,"  than  you  see  in  most  other  places  in  this 
new  and  republican  world.  All  things  in  this  city 
wear  more  of  the  air  of  English  life  and  society  than 
other  parts  of  the  States ;  and  many  of  the  inhabitants, 
while  most  reluctant  to  admit  the  superiority  of  the 
English  to  themselves  in  any  respect,  yet  pride  them- 
selves on  the  purity  of  their  descent  from  English 
families  of  distinction. 

The  suburbs  of  Boston  have  their  objects  of  interest. 
There  is  the  "  Harvard  University,"  with  its  numerous 
professors  and  students,  and  its  extensive  library.  But 
this  is  now  in  the  hands  of  the  Unitarians,  and  is  a 
stronghold  for  the  corruption  of  real  Christianity,  rather 
than  the  defence  and  preservation  of  it.  There  is  also 
the  Auburn  Cemetery,  which,  with  its  natural  scenery  of 
river,  lake,  forest,  and  shrubbery,  some  admire  more 


LAKE  CHAMPLAIN,  BOSTON,  AND  ALBANY. 


375 


ties  and 
ractures 
ic  insti- 

nerican. 
)lexions, 
^  a  puri- 
-dressed, 
irry  and 
3W  York 
jvith.  the 
aste  and 

a  quiet 
nd  look. 

there  is 

there  is 
Lthens  of 
s  in  this 
this  city 
lety  than 

abitants, 

of  the 

de  them- 

English 

interest, 
lumerous 
ry.  But 
and  is  a 
;y,  rather 
ire  is  also 
cenery  of 
ire  more 


than  the  celebrated  Pere-la-Chaise  of  Paris.  And  then 
there  is  the  much-talked-of  Bunker's  Hill  Monument, 
which  I  expected  to  find  far  more  massive  and  imposing 
than  it  is.  It  is  barely  a  modern  grey  granite  obelisk, 
not  near  so  high,  and  far  from  being  so  symmetrical,  as 
some  of  our  factory  chimneys,  to  say  nothing  of  our 
Gothic  towers  and  spires ;  and,  in  my  humble  judgment, 
has  no  grandeur  of  effect,  though  placed  on  an  eminence 
by  the  harbour  of  more  than  one  hundred  feet. 

There  are  also  the  Navy  Yard,  docks,  and  navy 
hospitals,  which  cannot  fail  to  interest  the  visitor,  and 
which,  with  other  public  works  and  structures,  surround 
and  adorn  the  city;  and,  on  the  whole,  an  English 
traveller  cannot  leave  Boston  without  a  deep  impression 
of  its  advanced  state  both  in  substance  and  refinement ; 
while,  if  he  be  a  regenerate  man,  he  will  sigh  as  he 
turns  away  from  it,  and  remembers  how  rapidly  it  is 
becoming  the  citadel  of  Unbelief.  Boston,  in  still 
greater  proportion  than  the  State  to  which  it  belongs, 
is  the  seat  of  Unitarianism,  Universalism,  and  various 
forms  of  scepticism.  The  Unitarians  have  more  churches 
here  than  any  other  worshipping  comro.unity.  Both 
Presbyterian  and  Episcopalian  churches  have  fallen, 
with  their  ministers,  into  this  Christ-dishonouring 
heresy,  and  have  borne  along  with  them  large  numbers 
of  the  more  wealthy  and  influential  families  of  the 
city;  while  the  University  of  Cambridge  and  other 
colleges  have  fallen  into  their  hands.  Theodore  Parker, 
the  polished  Pantheist,  gathers  his  crowded  audiences 
in  this  city,  and,  with  his  spurious  conceptions  of  tole- 
rance, is  said  to  bless  God  that  Mormonism  can  have  its 
free  and  unrestrained  liberty  in  Boston.  The  Roman 
Catholics,  too,  chiefly  through  the  influx  of  Irish  emi- 


I 


■lit 


:i 


376 


LAKE  CHAMPLAIN,  BOSTON,  AND  ALBANY. 


grants,  are  numerous,  and  have  here  their  priests  and 
female  agents  in  full  employment.  These  facts,  to  a 
mind  under  the  influence  of  spiritual  and  saving  Chris- 
tianity, throw  a  gloomy  cloud  over  the  city,  and 
lamentably  darken  its  character.  The  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  numbers  here  some  2000  full-church 
members,  and  has  its  "  Book  Concern,"  from  whence  it 
issues  its  Zion's  ITerald,  and  various  literature. 

I  left  Boston  for  Albany  by  the  Worcester  Railway, 
and  had  not  been  long  in  the  car  before  I  had  proof  of 
the  prevalence  of  scepticism  and  iniidelity  in  this  part 
of  the  States.  A  lady,  the  wife  of  a  senator,  as  I 
learned,  took  her  seat  at  Boston  immediately  behind 
me.  Verj'  soon  a  respectable-looking  man  seated  him- 
self beside  her,  and,  in  the  American  manner,  entered 
freely  into  conversation  with  her  respecting  her  journey. 
The  lady  stated  that  she  was  from  Auburn,  and  was  the 
wife  of  a  county  senator,  who,  at  a  sudden  call  by  the 
death  of  a  brother  on  the  railway,  was  journeying  from 
Albany  to  the  West.  She  seemed  to  feel  her  bereave- 
ment deeply,  and  spoke  of  it  as  a  very  serious  and 
solemn  event.  The  gentleman  on  the  seat  with  her 
said  that  it  was  not  surprising  that  such  an  event  should 
be  felt  by  the  bereaved  friends,  but  for  himself,  he  was 
reconciled  to  death  on  the  ground  that  it  terminated 
existence,  and  with  that  all  pain  and  sorrow.  He  used, 
he  observed,  to  shudder  at  the  approach  of  death,  when 
he  believed  in  reward  and  punishment  after  it,  but  in 
late  years  he  had  given  the  subject  a  thorough  investi- 
gation, and  he  was  convinced,  both  from  reason  and 
Scripture,  that  there  was  no  hereafter.  Then  he  entered 
upon  pretended  expositions  of  passages  in  the  Bible  bear- 
ing on  the  question,  and  gave  the  most  false  and  unwar- 


ap-JS'-Jasni^JfttMitefciw 


LAKE  OHAMPLAIN,  BOSTON,  AND  ALBANY. 


377 


rantable  interpretations.  The  lady  expressed  her  doubt 
respecting  his  conclusions,  and  declared  that,  in  her 
view,  they  afforded  no  relief  or  consolation  in  bereave- 
ment, or  in  the  personal  prospect  of  death.  He  set 
himself  still  more  earnestly  to  shake  her  faith  in  the 
doctrine  of  a  future  state,  and  tried  to  show  her  how 
his  unbelief  was  relieving  in  such  a  case  as  hers. 

I  forebore  from  making  any  remarks  as  long  as  I  could, 
but  this  attempt  to  seduce  a  sorrowing  woman  from  the 
truth  seemed  so  insidious  and  unmanly,  that  it  reminded 
me  of  Milton's  representation  of  Satan  as  a  toad  squat 
at  the  ear  of  Eve,  and  I  could  no  longer  restrain  the 
expression  of  my  condemnation;  so  turning  round  to 
the  gentleman,  I  said  firmly,  "  Sir,  you  must  excuse  me 
for  seeming  intrusion  upon  your  conversation  with  your 
friend,  but,  sitting  where  I  do,  I  could  not  but  hear  what 
you  have  said ;  and  satisfied  as  you  may  have  personally 
become  on  the  subject  you  have  named,  yet  you  must 
admit  that  you  incur  tremendous  responsibility  in  trying 
to  take  from  the  mind  of  another  the  all-powerful  motive 
to  moral  and  religious  duty  which  is  to  be  derived  from 
a  belief  in  a  future  life."  He  evidently  quailed  under 
the  rebuke  ;  his  eyes  drooped,  and  the  flesh  quivered  on 
his  face.  He  admitted  the  responsibility  incurred  by 
his  conduct,  but  endeavoured  to  justify  it  on  the  ground 
of  truth.  "We  then  discussed  the  question  itself,  exa- 
mining  Scripture  texts ;  but  hia  ardour  in  debate  soon 
subsided,  and,  on  our  stopping  at  the  next  station,  he 
either  left  the  train,  or  went  into  another  car,  for 
neither  the  lady  nor  I  saw  him  again. 

The  scenery  on  this  line  was  very  pleasing,  particu- 
larly in  the  neighbourhood  of  Springfield,  where  we 
crossed  the  Connecticut  Biver.     The  chain  of  hills  for 


378 


LAKE  CHAMPLAIN,  BOSTON,  AND  ALBANY. 


i 


i'i  I  ,'■  .1 


m 


many  miles  was  beautiful  in  its  round  swelling  forms 
and  rich  green  clothing.  It  was  covered  with  fresh- 
leaved  trees,  and  that  from  the  river-edge  to  its  summit, 
so  that  the  sight  as  I  rode  along  and  viewed  them  was 
very  refreshing.  As  the  train  approached  Albany  the 
hills  became  less  undulating  and  more  extended  in  their 
outline.  They  assumed  more  of  the  form  of  mountains, 
and  were  not  so  uniformly  wooded.  With  the  hori- 
zontal streaks  of  the  descending  sun  behind  them,  they 
produced  a  very  solemn  and  grand  eflfect,  which  was 
more  sombre  as  we  advanced,  and  before  arriving  at 
Troy,  where  we  crossed  the  Hudson  by  ferry  for  Albany, 
the  scenery  was  almost  wholly  massed  in  darkness.  The 
lights  of  Albany,  sprinkled  over  the  sloping  heights 
of  the  city,  made  known  its  general  outline.  I  drove 
up  to  the  Congress  Hall  Hotel,  and  soon  pronounced 
myself  to  be  in  a  very  comfortable  lodging. 

Albany  is  the  legislative  capital  of  the  Empire  State 
of  New  York,  and  was  one  of  the  earliest  Dutch  settle- 
ments. It  was  wrested  from  them  by  Charles  II.  in 
1664,  and,  both  under  the  English  and  the  Americans, 
has  continued  to  prosper,  so  that  now  it  is  a  large  and  im- 
portant city,  with  more  than  60,000  inhabitants.  Lying 
on  a  sloping  ascent  on  the  western  bank  of  the  Hudson, 
Albany  looks  well  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  as 
it  is  seen  rising  from  its  quay  and  wharves  at  the  water's 
edge,  and  displaying  its  buildings  and  streets  at  differ- 
ent steps  of  elevation,  until  they  are  all  crowned  by 
the  dome  of  the  City  Hall,  which,  being  overlaid  with 
plates  of  zinc,  glistens  in  the  sunshine  most  brilliantly. 
The  chief  trade  is  in  the  lower  parts  of  the  city,  and, 
both  in  appearance  and  names,  the  stores  remind  a 
visitor  of  the  Dutch  origin  of  the  place.     Albany  is 


L. 


LAKE  CIIAMPLAIN,  BOSTON,  AND  ALBANY. 


379 


nearly  at  the  extremity  of  the  deeper  navigation  of  the 
Hudson,  and  being,  as  it  is,  a  gre  point  of  commu- 
nication with  Canada  and  the  Atlantic,  as  well  as  with 
the  West,  the  steamboats  and  river-craft  are  numerous. 

The  public  buildings  and  better  sort  of  residences 
are  in  the  higher  part  of  the  town,  either  on  the 
crown  of  the  hill,  or  in  either  of  the  two  chief  cross 
streets,  named  Market  Street  and  Pearl  Street.  The 
great  thoroughfare  is  a  long,  wide  street  or  avenue 
ascending  from  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  reaching  to 
the  Capitol  on  the  hill.  The  streets  are  irregular  in 
the  older  part  of  the  town — that  nearest  the  river  ;  but 
in  the  higher  and  more  modern  division,  order  has  been 
observed,  and  large  spaces  have  been  appropriated  to 
public  squares,  which,  with  their  walks  and  trees,  add 
much  to  the  pleasant  appearance  as  well  as  to  the  salu- 
brity of  the  city.  The  Capitol  is  not  so  stately  and 
imposing  as  some  other  public  buildings  in  its  neigh- 
bourhood, which  are  of  later  date. 

Churches  and  educational  establishments  are  nume- 
rous in  Albany;  there  is  church  accommodation  for 
more  than  two-thirds  of  its  population,  including  chil- 
dren ;  and  it  is  said  that  fully  two-thirds  regularly 
attend  public  worship.  The  Methodists  have  the  greater 
share  of  the  churches,  and  hold  a  very  good  position 
in  the  city.  The  Presbjrterians,  the  German  Reformers, 
the  Baptists,  and  the  Protestant  Episcopalians,  as  well 
as  the  Roman  Catholics,  have  large  churches,  and  all  of 
them  have  Sunday-schools  belonging  to  them.  There 
are  also  normal  or  model  schools  on  a  large  scale,  in 
which  teachers  are  trained  for  the  public  schools  in  the 
State. 

That  very  singular  religious  sect,  the  Shakers,  have 


380 


LAKE   CIIAMPLAIN,   BOSTON,   AND   ALBANY. 


M; 


\  ■:< 


' 


,v, 


' 


a  large  establishment  within  eight  miles  of  Albany, 
but  I  had  not  time  to  visit  it.  They  are  the  followers 
of  "Mother  Ann  Lee,"  of  Manchester,  in  our  own 
country,  who  joined  herself  to  some  German  Shakers, 
and  began  like  them  to  profess  special  revelations  and 
manifestations  from  Heaven,  and  held  meetings  in 
which  leaping  and  dancing  were  the  results  of  high 
mental  excitement  in  some,  and  persecution  the  natural 
result  in  others.  She  left  England  to  escape  the  perse- 
cution, and,  in  1776,  located  herself  at  Niakynna,  in 
this  neighbourhood,  where  the  chief  community  of  her 
followers  still  reside.  There  are  other  communities  of 
this  strange  sect  scattered  over  the  States,  comprising 
4000  men,  women,  and  children,  nnd  they  are  said  to 
be  gaining  adherents  more  rapidly  now  than  for  some 
time  past.  I  might  have  spent  the  Sabbath  in  visiting 
the  Shakers'  establishment,  and  I  must  confess  that  I 
had  some  curiosity  to  witness  their  monastic  sj'stem, 
their  jumping,  dancing,  and  singing,  especially  as  they 
have  the  h^*  jhest  reputation  for  morality  and  sincerity  ; 
but  I  could  not,  on  reil^ction,  think  it  the  most  suitable 
way  of  spending  the  hours  of  the  sacred  day.  So  I 
remained  at  Albany,  and  visited  the  various  churches. 

In  the  morning  I  went  to  the  Methodist  service  in 
Pearl  Street,  where,  in  a  good,  commodious  church,  I 
heard  a  somewhat  desultory,  but  on  the  whole  t  telling 
sermon  on  the  Christian  duty  of  overcoming  evil  with 
good.  The  service  was  fervent  and  impressive.  After- 
wards, I  turned  into  a  large  Protestant  Episcopal  church 
in  State  Street,  where,  to  a  fashionably-dressed  audience, 
I  heard  delivered  a  decent  moral  discourse,  which  lacked 
earnestness,  evangelical  motive,  and  direct  application. 
In  the  afternoon,  I  looked  in  at  the  Boman  Catholic 


LAKE  CIIAMPLAIN,  BOSTON     AND  ALB    HY. 


m 


Albany,     ' 
ollowers 
>ur  own 
Shakers, 
ions  and 
tings  in 
of  high 
e  natural 
he  perse- 
:ynna,  in 
ty  of  her 
anities  of 
Dmprising 
re  said  to 
for  some 
in  -visiting 
!ess  that  X 
system, 
y  as  they 
sincerity ; 
st  suitable 
ay.     So  I 
hurches. 
service  in 
church,  I 
t  telling 
evil  with 
After- 
»al  church 
audience, 
[ich  lacked 
(plication. 
Catholic 


<s 


r^ 


church,  which  was  filled  in  every  part.  The  altu 
highly  decorated  and  the  priests  were  in  full  rl  <« ; 
the  schools  were  in  their  characteristic  costumes ;  inanv 
candles  were  burning  ;  the  choir  was  large  and  powerful ; 
and  all  the  congregation  seemed  to  be  most  earnestly 
engaged  in  the  service.  The  show  and  glare  of  Popery 
seemed  carried  to  their  utmost  height,  and  as  I  stood 
and  surveyed  the  priests  and  their  attendants,  bowing 
and  chanting  before  the  crucifixes,  I  could  have  shouted 
"  Idolatry  !  Idolatry  ! "  as  loudly  as  Latimer  himself, 
for  my  spirit  was  stirred  within  me  at  the  semi-hea- 
thenish sight.  In  the  evening  I  sought  the  African 
church,  but  could  not  find  it ;  so  I  turned  into  the 
Baptist  church  in  Pearl  Street,  and  heard  from  a  Mr. 
Nixon,  who  was  there  that  evening,  a  very  tender  and 
loving  sermon  on  the  first  part  of  Solomon's  Song. 
After  that  I  called  on  Mr.  Lord  from  England,  and 
then  returned  to  my  hotel,  where  I  slept  soundly  in  a 
good  bed  until  five  the  next  morning. 


«r 


LETTER  XXII. 


HUDSON  RIVER,  BROOKLYN,  AND  VOYAGE  HOME. 


Scenery  of  the  Hudson— The  "  Crow's  Ni»t  "— Tappan's  Bay— The  "  Pali- 
sades " — Hills  of  Hobokcn — Ueturn  to  New  York — Visit  to  Brooklyn — 
Dr.  Hannah's  Sermon  and  Farewell  of  Meihodist  Friends  in  New  York — 
Rc-cmbnrkmcnt  on  Board  the  ^//•«V«— Vojugt;  homewards — I'lisscngcrs 
— Sabhath  Services  on  Board — Singing — Land  in  Sight — Sumuniry  of 
Thoughts  on  America. 


I  LEFT  Albany  for  New  York  by  the  Hudson  Railway, 
which  passes  along  the  eastern  bank  of  the  river.  The 
Hudson  gradually  increased  in  width,  and  was  broken 
by  islands  richly  covered  with  graceful  foliage.  After 
about  an  hour's  ride,  the  Catskill  Mountains  were  seen 
on  the  right :  rain-clouds  were  hanging  upon  them  at 
the  time,  and  they  were  reeking  in  their  morning-dew 
with  fine  Turneresque  effect.  Here  and  there  the  veil 
of  mist  was  parted,  and  afforded  glimpses  of  dark, 
wooded,  high-peaked  mountains,  and  of  the  sylvan 
sloping  scenery  around  them.  I  passed  the  town  of 
Hudson,  which  takes  its  name,  like  the  river,  from  the 
Dutch  navigator  and  explorer,  and  saw  across  the 
water  the  small  village  of  "  Athens." 

In  about  three  hours  from  starting  I  reached  Ehine- 
beck,  where  my  friend.  Dr.  Hannah,  joined  me  again — 
he  having  spent  the  time  of  our  separation  very  plea- 


3ME. 


-The  "  Pali. 
)  Brooklytt— 
New  York— 
!— Passengers 
-Summary  of 


a.  Railway, 
ivor.     The 
vas  broken 
After 
were  seen 
on  them  at 
Dining-dew 
ore  the  veil 
of    dark, 
the  sylvan 
be  town  of 
r,  from  the 
across   the 


ge. 


led  Bhine- 
le  again — 
very  plea- 


nUDSON   hIVER,   BROOKLYN,  AND   VOYAOE   HOME,      5383 

santly  and  profitably  at  Rhinebeck,  with  the  daughter 
of  Freeborn  Qarrettson  and  Mrs.  Olin,  who  reside  in 
that  locality.  He  had  preached  twice  on  the  Hubbath, 
and  had  administered  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per in  a  newly-opened  church  at  Hill  Side,  for  building 
which  the  ladies  had  obtained  the  funds  by  their  own 
efforts.  It  was  the  first  time  that  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  had  been  administered  there.  Notwith- 
standing these  labours,  I  was  delighted  to  see  that  the 
doctor  looked  refreshed  by  his  visit. 

"We  now  journeyed  on  together,  and  had  most  lovely 
landscape  views  opening  to  us, — they  were  scattered 
over  with  mansions,  and  we  learned  that  this  charming 
locality  was  named  "  Hyde  Park."  The  scenery  grew 
bolder  as  we  approached  the  flourishing  towns  of 
Poughkeepsie  and  Nowburgh.  The  blue  hills  stretched 
away  beyond  the  river,  reminding  us  by  their  forms  of 
our  own  Cumberland  and  Westmoreland  scenery.  Then 
we  came  to  a  highly  picturesque  part  at  what  is  called 
"  West  Point,"  where  two  frowning  hills  overhang  the 
water,  while  an  island  of  rock  rises  up  in  the  middle 
of  the  river.  This  view  of  the  immense  toppling 
masses  of  craggy  heights  and  leaning  precipices  is  very 
impressive.  Rut  the  most  lovely  scene  of  all  was  that 
of  the  "  Crow's  Nest,"  where  a  mountain  1428  feet  high 
rests  in  the  river,  in  the  midst  of  the  most  beautiful 
lake-like  expansion  of  water,  and  in  the  most  picturesque 
manner  slopes  upwards  to  the  summit,  where  there  is  a 
depression  in  form  of  fancied  resemblance  to  a  crow's 
nest.  Nothing  can  be  imagined  finer  than  this  part  of 
the  Hudson  scenery.  The  shelving  banks  and  hills 
sink  down  at  their  sides  into  the  glassy  river,  and 
reflect  their  rich  covering  of  June   verdure  as  in  a 


*  \ 


384      HUDSON   RIVER,   BROOKLYN,  AND   VOYAGE  HOME. 


' 


It 


bright  mirror ;  while  the  Crow-Nest  mountain,  with 
deeper  shadows  at  his  sides  and  in  the  water,  rests  in 
high,  calm  majesty,  like  a  monarch  amidst  the  whole. 

In  this  neighboarhood,  too,  standing  on  an  elevation, 
is  the  Military  Academy,  where  the  cadets  for  the 
United  States'  army  are  trained,  and  also  the  pillared 
monument  raised  by  them  to  the  Polish  patriot,  Kos- 
ciusko, who,  in  early  life,  fought  under  Washington  for 
American  independence,  and  who  spent  his  latter  days 
in  quietness  in  this  neighbourhood,  receiving  a  pension 
from  the  United  States'  government.  Further,  after 
passing  "Buttermilk  Falls"  on  the  right,  and  "An- 
thony's Nose "  on  the  left,  we  came  to  "  Sing  Sing," 
where  are  the  noted  marble  quarries,  worked  by  state 
prisoners.  Then  we  reached  "  Tappan's  Bay,"  where 
the  water  expands  to  an  average  width  of  two  miles  and 
a  half,  in  a  length  of  about  ten  miles.  This  locality  is 
memorable  in  American  history  for  being  the  head- 
quarters of  Washington  during  the  war  of  the  revolu- 
tion. We  were  now  also  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
homes  of  Washington  Irving,  the  genial  author  of  "  The 
Sketch-book  of  Geoffrey  Crayon,"  and  of  Mrs.  Wetherell, 
the  successful  writer  of  "  Queechy,"  and  "  The  Wide 
Wide  World." 

The  Hudson  River  narrowed  again ;  and  now,  on 
our  right,  for  twenty  miles  in  length,  rose  a  most 
remarkable  range  of  trap-rock,  ascending  perpendicu- 
larly from  the  water  to  a  height  of  from  100  to  500  feet, 
with  sharp-pointed  edges  at  its  precipice.  This  wall  of 
rocks,  from  its  appearance,  is  called  "  The  Palisades." 
In  some  parts  it  is  perfectly  bare,  showing  the  angular 
seams  and  fissures ;  in  other  parts  it  is  scattered  over 
with  brushwood,  and  here  and  there  slopes  down  a  bit 


1MB.  ■-'  - 

1,  witli 
rests  in 
vliole. 
evation, 
for  the 
pillared 
ot,  Kos- 
igton  for 
bter  days 
I  pension 
er,  after 
:id  "An- 
g  Sing." 
L  by  state 
r,"  wbero 
miles  and 
locality  is 
the  head- 
le  revolu- 
)od  of  the 
r  of  "The 
etherell, 
Jhe  Wide 

now,  on 
^e  a  most 
Lrpendicu- 
[o  500  feet, 
lis  wall  of 
j^alisades." 
le  angular 
Itered  over 
3wn  a  bit 


HUDSON   RIVER,   BROOKLYN,   AND   VOYAGE   HOME.     385 

of  lawn  to  the  edge  of  the  river,  while  between  the  cliffs 
may  be  seen  peeping  lovely  cottages,  half-smothered  in 
shrubberies.  The  eastern  bank  of  the  river,  upon  which 
we  passed  by  the  train,  is  only  of  moderate  height ;  but 
it  is  not  without  its  adornment  of  trees  and  villages. 

The  Hudson  may  be  considered  as  the  Rhine  of  the 
United  States ;  but  its  scenery  is  not  so  bold  and  ro- 
mantic  as  that  which  we  have  seen  together  on  the 
veritable  Rhine,  though  it  is  as  winding  in  its  course, 
and  as  abrupt  in  some  of  its  turns.      The  loftier  eleva- 
tions by  the  side  of  the  Hudson  are  almost  wholly  con- 
fined to  its  western  bank,  and  you  are  not  presented 
here  with  the  rocky  juttings  and  fine  old  ruined  castles 
which  so  greatly  heighten  the  picturesque  effect  of  the 
panorama  on  the  true  Rhine,  and  so  constantly  carry 
back  the  thoughts  to  the  old  chivalrous  times.    Thought 
is  awakened  as  one  gazes  here  at  so  much  that  is  beau- 
tiful.    The  imagination  pictures  the  delight  and  wonder 
of  the  first  Europeans  who  ascended  the  Hudson — for 
delight  and  wonder  must  have  been  experienced,  even 
by  a  Dutch  commander  and  his  crew,  when  these  varied 
scenes  of  beauty  and  fertility  first  broke  upon  their  view. 
They  must,  one  cannot  help  thinking,  have  gazed  from 
the   deck,  with  almost  breathless   admiration,  at  the 
richly  wooded  scenery  ;  while  here  and  there  at  openings 
or  at  the  water's  edge,  would  be  seen  painted  and  head- 
plumed  Indians,  peeping  or  staring  at  them  and  their 
heavy  vessel.     And  then  there  would  be  the  glowinj, 
thoughts  of  the  report  of  their  discovery,  which  they 
would  have  to   bear  to  Holland — that   report   which, 
when  actually  delivered,  induced  the  Dutch  instantly 
to  form  a  company  for  the  colonisation  of  this  newly- 
found  realm  of  loveliness. 

c  c 


(I 


\ 


i 


386    HUDSON   RIVER,   BROOKLYN,   AND   VOYAGE   HOME. 


We  soon  beheld  on  our  right  the  hills  of  Hoboken, 
where  many  of  the  more  opulent  merchants  of  New 
York  have  their  villas  and  mansions,  the  site  combining 
the  advantages  of  good  air,  extensive  and  beautiful 
scenery,  and  proximity  to  the  great  city.  On  the  river, 
too,  the  numerous  steamers  and  craft  of  different  kinds, 
approaching  or  leaving  New  York,  now  gave  additional 
animation  to  the  scene ;  and  soon  we  were  rattling 
through  the  streets  on  the  western  side  of  the  metro- 
politan city,  and  then  were  busy  claiming  our  luggage 
at  the  terminus  by  the  corresponding  checks.  One  of 
the  checks  proved  to  have  been  given  us  in  error,  for 
it  did  not  bear  the  same  number  as  that  which  was 
attached  to  the  doctor's  black  bag.  However,  by  ex- 
planations and  certificates,  we  obtained  the  whole  (ten 
portions),  and  with  it  drove  in  a  spacious  swing  coach 
to  the  Book  Concern.  There  we  took  up  our  large 
portmanteaus,  which  we  had  forwarded  for  relief  from 
Indianapolis,  by  Adam's  Express,  1000  miles  for  about 
£1.  Thence  we  proceeded  to  our  friend  Mr.  Mead's, 
truly  thankful  for  Divine  protection  during  our  long 
journey  over  so  large  a  portion  of  the  American  con- 
tinent, and  reconciled  to  the  overcharge  of  four  dollars 
{16s.  8d.)  for  the  use  of  the  coach  from  the  railway, 
knowing  that,  with  the  exception  of  a  bunch  of  keys 
left  at  Rhinebeck,  all  our  luggage  was  safe,  and  that 
we  with  it  were  on  the  eve  of  departure  for  home. 

During  our  very  brief  stay  in  New  York  we  went 
over  to  Brooklyn  by  the  steam  ferry;  and  while  Dr. 
Hannah  called  upon  an  English  friend  there,  I  went  on 
to  Greenmount  Cemetery.  This  suburban  burial-place  is 
very  beautifully  situated  on  a  rising  ground  facing  New 
York,  is  tastefully  laid  out  in  walks  and  water,  and  its 


>ME. 


HUDSON   RIVER,   BROOKLYN    AND   VOYAGE   HOME,      387 


oboken, 
of  New 
nabining 
)eautiful 
he  river, 
it  kinds, 
Iditional 
rattling 
B  metro- 
luggage 
One  of 
error,  for 
hicb  was 
r,  by  ex- 
^hole  (ten 
ing  coach 
our  large 
jlief  from 
for  about 
•.  Mead's, 
our  long 
ican  con- 
ur  dollars 
!  railway, 
of  keys 
and  that 
bme. 
we  went 
s^hile  Dr. 
went  on 
al-place  is 
sing  New 
^r,  and  its 


white  marble  tombs  and  obelisks  are  surrounded  or 
overhung  with  shrubbery  and  trees.  There  is  some- 
thing very  instructive  and  subduing  in  these  American 
grave  gardens.  Reverence  and  love  for  the  departed 
are  evident  in  the  care,  order,  and  taste  with  which  the 
graves  and  sepulchres  are  preserved.  The  mementoes 
of  garlands  and  bunches  of  faded  flowers  strewn  over 
them,  tell  of  visits  by  the  bereaved,  and  the  simple  and 
unaffected  inscriptions  which  some  of  them  bear  in  the 
place  of  the  full  name — such  as  "  My  Husband,"  *'  Our 
Mother,"  or  "  My  Brother,"  are  very  touching. 

I  also  revisited  the  Methodic^.  Book  Concern,  where 
the  kindest  attentions  were  paid  to  me  by  the  Rev.  Thos. 
Carlton,  and  where  copies  of  several  publications  were 
generously  presented  to  me.  I  also  stepped  into  Har- 
per's great  book-store,  and  several  other  publishing 
and  bookselling  establishments.  But  I  found  little  in 
the  price  of  American  books  to  tempt  me  to  add  much 
to  the  weight  of  my  luggage ;  nor,  indeed,  did  I  find 
anything  in  the  States  much  cheaper  than  the  like 
article  in  Engh  nd,  while  many  things,  particularly 
clothing,  were  considerably  higher. 

Dr.  Hannah  preached,  by  special  request,  in  the 
evening  of  the  single  entire  day  we  spent  in  New  York 
on  our  return,  in  Green  Street  Methodist  Church.  The 
large  building  was  crowded  ;  and  the  doctor,  worn  and 
jaded  though  he  was,  preached  a  most  eloquent  and 
powerful  sermon.  Many  had  come  not  only  from  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  city,  but  from  different  parts  of  the 
country.  Some  were  there  whom  we  had  known  in 
London  and  Manchester,  and  seemed  to  feel  much  under 
the  remembrance  of  old  times.  After  the  sermon  I  was 
proceeding  to  conclude  the  service,  when  we  discovered 


] 

Hi 


388     HUDSON   RIVER,   BROOKLYN,  AND   VOYAGE   HOME. 

that  it  had  been  arranged  to  take  a  public  farewell  of  us 
on  the  eve  of  our  departure  for  home  and  England. 
Many  ministers  were  within  the  communion-rails  and 
around.  Dr.  Bangs  delivered  to  us  a  most  aflPectionate 
address,  and  Dr.  Hannah  replied  to  it  appropriately. 
They  pressed  me  for  a  speech ;  but  I  was  tired  of 
public  exhibitions,  and  was  too  much  the  subject  of 
emotion  to  speak  at  length,  so  I  sheltered  myself  under 
the  speech  of  Dr.  Hannah,  and  made  my  escape  from  a 
front  position. 

The  inquiries  made  of  us,  and  the  messages  and 
daguerreotypes  entrusted  to  us,  by  settlers  in  tho  new 
world,  were  very  numerous.  We  shook  hands  that  night 
with  not  merely  scores,  but  hundreds,  of  friends ;  and 
we  returned  at  a  late  hour  to  our  host's,  in  the  "  Second 
Avenue,"  to  sleep  a  little,  and  then  prepare  for  com- 
mencing our  homeward  voyage  on  the  morrow. 

We  were  on  board  the  Africa — our  old  ship — by 
eleven  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  June  the  11th,  accom- 
panied and  met  by  a  crowd  of  well-wishers — among 
whom  were  our  constant  friend.  Dr.  Osbon,  his  wife, 
and  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Palmer.  The  last-named  lady  has 
written  some  excellent  works  on  Christian  holiness,  and 
kindly  presented  copies  of  them  to  us.  At  twelve  at 
noon,  with  feelings  never  to  be  forgotten,  we  waved  our 
hats  and  handkerchiefs,  as  the  steamship  was  loosened 
from  her  moorings,  and  began  to  move  her  paddle- 
wheels  for  England.  When  we  could  no  longer  discern 
our  friends  on  the  pier,  we  took  our  last  long  look 
around  the  beautifully  expanding  bay  through  which 
we  were  steaming  towards  the  ocean ;  and  sighed  forth 
our  prayers  to  heaven  for  the  churches  and  brethren 
from  whom  we  had  received  such  uniform  attentions, 


OMB. 


HUDSON  BIVBR,  BROOKLYN,  AND  VOYAGE  HOME.     389 


rell  of  us 
Cnjjland. 
ails  and 
3ctionate 
ipriately. 
tired  of 
abject  of 
jlf  uDder 
)e  from  a 

iges   and 
the  new 
hat  night 
ads;  and 
"  Second 
for  corn- 
ship — ^by 
accom- 
among 
his  wife, 
lady  has 
|ness,  and 
welve  at 
aved  our 
loosened 
paddle- 
Ir  discern 
•ng  look 
•h  which 
led  forth 
Ibrethren 
tentions, 


and  expressions  and  proofs  of  regard  during  our  sojourn 
in  America. 

We  were  now  fairly  afloat,  and  bound  for  home. 
The  captain,  officers,  and  men  belonging  to  tlie  Afnca 
recognised  us  with  pleasant  looks  and  words,  as  their 
old  passengers;  and  we  were  not  long  before  we  set 
our  cabin  in  order,  and  prepared  for  repoje,  after  nine 
weeks  continuous  travel  and  excitement.  We  both  felt 
the  effects  of  our  doings,  and  were  glad  to  escape  from 
the  saloon  to  our  cabin,  there  to  rest,  and  speak  unre- 
strainedly together  of  our  thoughts  and  feelings  in 
relation  to  the  past  and  future.  We  were  scarcely  out 
at  sea — that  is  to  say,  fairly  out  of  sight  of  land — before 
we  were  enveloped  in  thick  fog,  so  that  the  horrid 
screech-horn,  to  warn  approaching  vessels,  was  heard 
every  few  minutes.  And  this  was  to  be  endured  for 
several  days  and  nights. 

On  crossing  the  banks  of  Newfoundland,  where  the 
cold  current  from  the  ice-bound  north  comes  in  contact 
with  the  warm  Gulf  Stream,  in  which  we  sailed,  the 
fog  thickened  greatly  upon  us.  Fog,  fog,  fog,  was 
everywhere — shrouding  our  vessel,  hiding  from  us  the 
sky  and  the  sea,  and  filling  the  sal  on  and  cabins  with 
dense  vapour.  We  were  crowded  with  passengers ;  and 
had  still  greater  varieties  among  them  than  among 
those  who  were  with  us  in  our  outward  voyage.  They 
were  well-behaved;  and  less  sea-sick  than  those  we 
went  out  with,  for  the  water  was  remarkably  and  con- 
tinuously smooth.  There  were  sudden  stoppings,  and 
alarms  at  times,  which  made  the  passengers  crowd  to 
the  gangway.  But  the  doctor  and  I  kept  much  in  our 
berths,  feeling  seriously  the  effects  of  our  past  toil,  now 
the  excitement  was  over. 


11 


WOTP 


\\ 


1 


390     HUDSON   lllVER,,  BROOKLYN     AND    VOYAGE   HOME. 

At  length  the  fog  cleared  off  for  a  time ;  and  from 
the  deck  we  could  see  whales  sporting  in  the  water,  and 
spouting  out  the  steam  from  their  nostrils.  Then 
several  icebergs  were  beheld  drifting  towards  us  from 
the  north ;  a  sight  which  interested  us  all,  somewhat 
apprehensively.  I  sketched  them  with  black  and  white 
crayons.  They  were  like  floating  islands,  as  white  as 
snow ;  and,  in  the  place  of  dark  shadows  upon  them, 
there  were  green,  emerald-like  reflections.  One  of 
them,  as  it  passed  by  us,  having  worn  the  under  part 
away  in  its  course,  until  the  upper  had  become  the 
heavier,  toppled  over  fully  in  our  view.  Thus  my 
desire  to  see  icebergs  was  fulfilled ;  and  that  under 
most  favourable  circumstances. 

I  have  been  greatly  interested  and  amused  by  con- 
sidering the  varieties  among  our  passengers — especially 
of  their  adornments  of  beard  and  moustache ;  and,  one 
day,  I  set  myself  to  sketch  the  forms  of  these,  as  I 
could  see  them,  during  the  time  of  a  meal,  in  the 
saloon.  I  have  sketched  no  less  than  thirty-five  varieties, 
which  extend  from  the  first  pepper-dust  crop  on  the 
lip  and  chin,  to  the  full-trained  bushy  beard  that  covers 
all  the  lower  part  of  the  face.  Some  of  the  forms  are 
very  fanciful  and  ridiculous,  as  you  will  see;  and  if 
exhibited,  as  they  might  be,  to  the  public,  might  tend 
to  shame  fast  and  foppish  young  men  from  disfiguring 
the  "  human  face  divine  "  in  this  barbarous  wav.  Some 
of  these  beards,  you  will  observe,  resemble  much  those 
of  a  goat ;  and  others  give  the  face  a  sort  of  harlequin 
character,  by  patching  it  with  pieces  of  dark  and  light 
colour.  Surely,  this  rage  for  face^hair  training  is  the 
most  absurd  rage  which  has  displayed  itself  in  modern 
times !  , 


OME. 


HUDSON   RIVER,   BROOKLYN,  AND   VOYAGE   HOME.     391 


nd  from 
iter,  and 
1.     Then 

us  from 
jmevvhat 
nd  white 
white  as 
)n  them, 

One  of 
ider  part 
3ome  the 
rhus  my 
at  under 

by  con- 
jspecially 
and,  one 
ese,  as  I 
I,  in   the 
varieties, 
p  on  the 
at  covers 
"orms  are 
;  and  if 
;ht  tend 
figuring 
Some 
ch  those 
arlequin 
|nd  light 
ig  is  the 
modern 


On  the  Sabbath,  Dr.  Hannah  preached  in  the  saloon, 
and  I  real  the  liturgy.  The  passengers  were  very 
attentive,  and  the  service  was  most  refreshing.  A 
venerable  Kussian  general,  on  board,  took  much  to  us, 
and  was  eager  in  his  inquiries  concerning  religion. 
He  particularly  asked  questions  regarding  the  bodily, 
or  "  real,"  presence  of  Christ  in  the  sacrament  of  the 
Lord's  Supper.  He  was  evidently  sincere ;  and  seemed 
glad  to  be  instructed  in  the  things  which  belong  to 
salvation.  We  have  had  some  delightful  singing  on 
board.  In  the  evening,  the  Germans,  who  are  numerous, 
gathered  between  the  decks,  and  sang  some  of  their 
fuU-chorded  German  hymns,  which  sounded  most 
heavenly  on  the  water.  A  lady,  too,  with  her  guitar, 
at  night,  sang  most  charmingly : 

"  Her  voice  was  like  the  music  of  a  dream," 

We  are  now  bearing  on-vard,  in  clear  weather,  with 
a  fair  wind ;  and  I  am  hoping,  in  a  few  more  hours, 
to  see  England,  "  home,  sweet  home,"  and  yourself. 
This  inspires  me  until  I  could  not  forbear  perpetrating 
some  verses  expressive  of  my  thoughts  and  feelings ; 
for  cold  prose  does  not  seem  an  adequate  or  appropriate 
vehicle  of  the  mind,  in  such  circumstances.  I  am  like 
the  Irishman  who  wrote  a  loiter  and  carried  it  himself; 
for  no  mail  will  get  this  sheet  from  me  to  convey  it  to 
you :  I  shall  have  to  bring  it  myself.  Yet,  having 
described  by  letter  almost  all  things  I  have  seen,  heard, 
and  thought,  in  my  Transatlantic  tour,  I  am  induced  to 
spend  my  time  on  board  in  thus  penning  for  you  the 
memombilia  of  our  homeward  voyage. 

Indeed,  land  is  now  in  sight,  and  we  are  making  for 
the  south-east  point  of  Ireland ;  in  other  words,  for  the 


• 


392     HUDSON   RIVER,   BROOKLYN,   AND   VOYAGE   HOME. 

entrance  into  St.  George's  Channel.  Nearly  all  the 
passengers  are  on  deck  in  their  better  clothing ;  many 
of  them  with  spy-glasses  in  hand,  to  look  for  the  first 
speck  of  England.  The  water  is  smooth  as  glass  ;  and 
as  I  shall  have  time  and  space  to  do  so,  I  will  try, 
in  the  next  hour  or  two,  to  pen  for  you  my  most 
mature  thoughts  upon  the  character  of  America  and  its 
people. 


The  country  and  its  resources  are  great  beyond 
conception  by  a  stranger:  indeed,  it  is  a  world  in 
itself.  The  area  of  the  United  States  is  three  millions 
of  square  miles,  extending  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific,  east  and  west,  and  from  the  British  possessions 
on  the  north  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  on  the  south.  The 
extent  of  shore  line  is  12,609  miles ;  half  of  this  line 
being  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  looking  towards  the 
old  countries  of  Europe.  It  has  thirty-one  independent 
States,  and  nine  territories,  including  the  district  of 
Columbia.  In  the  first  twenty  years  of  independent 
existence  the  States  doubled  their  territory,  and  in  less 
than  sixty  years  increased  it  threefold.  The  entire 
population  of  the  United  States  at  present  is  more  than 
twenty-seven  millions ;  one-sixth  of  this  number  are 
coloured  people,  of  whom  all,  except  about  half  a  mil- 
lion, are  slaves.  The  yearly  revenue  of  the  United 
States'  Government  is  now  more  than  thirteen  millions 
sterling.  All  this  indicates  an  immense  advancement, 
for  it  is  not  yet  a  century  since  the  Americans  won  their 
independence.  And  when  it  is  considered  that  their 
country  contaias  every  variety  of  the  raw  materials  of 
commerce — wood,  coal,  stone,  and  the  metals — in  abun- 
dance ;  that  the  soil,  for  the  most  part,  is  as  rich  and 


ME. 


HUDSON  RIVER,  BROOKLYN,  AND  VOYAGE  HOME.     393 


ill  the 
many 
tie  first 
9;  and 
iU  try, 
T  most 
and  its 


beyond 
3rld  in 
nillions 
to  the 
sessions 
1.     The 
bis  line 
rds  the 
pendent 
trict  of 
jendent 
in  less 
entire 
ire  than 
3er  are 
a  mil- 
United 
nillions 
cement, 
3n  their 
it  their 
rials  of 
a  abun- 
ch  and 


productive  as  can  well  be  conceived,  and  that  under 
every  variety  of  climate ;  that  its  vast  sea  and  lake  lines 
girdle  it  all  round,  affording  openings  for  the  most 
convcLient  ports  and  harbours,  and  that  by  these,  and 
by  railroads  and  rivers  within,  it  possesses  the  very  best 
facilities  for  both  external  and  internal  communications 
— it  must  be  perceived  that  the  prospect  for  further 
advancement  is  almost  boundless. 

But  it  is  on  the  American  character  that  one  relies 
when  anticipating  a  vast  progress  for  the  country,  since 
mere  material  advantages  can  never  make  a  great  nation. 
And  the  Americans  have  energy,  expertness,  and  tact, 
such  as  cannot  be  overmatched  by  any  other  people  in 
the  world.  Brother  Jonathan  is  really  a  handy  fellow  ; 
he  is  ready  for  anything  that  will  produce  profit.  And 
although  he  eagerly  reaches  after  the  "  almighty  dollar," 
one  cannot  charge  him  with  sheer  avarice,  for  the 
liberal  provision  he  makes  for  his  numerous  philan- 
thropic institutions  would  disprove  the  charge  at  once. 
The  Americans  live  in  an  element  of  political  party 
strife,  and  are  constantly  at  war  on  the  borders  between 
the  North  and  the  South,  but  they  are  resolutely  deter- 
mined, at  all  costs,  to  maintain  their  Federal  Union,  and 
whatever  may  be  their  internal  broils,  they  would  com- 
binedly  resent  the  interference  of  any  foreign  power,  as 
certainly  as  the  quarrelling  husband  and  wife  within 
doors  resent  the  unasked  interposition  of  a  meddling 
neighboui'.  They  are  disgracefully  criminal,  as  well  as 
grossly  inconsistent,  in  their  association  with  Slavery ; 
but  several  of  the  States  are  progressively  severing 
themselves  from  this  monster  evil,  and  surely  we  may 
hope  that  the  rest  will,  sooner  or  later,  follow  the'r 
example.     Perhaps  it  is  to  purely  religious  effort,  after 


I 


894    HUDSON  river  Brooklyn,  and  voyage  home. 

all,  that  wo  must  look  for  the  moving  power  that  shall 
eventually  secure  negro  emancipation  in  America.  Ono 
cannot  help  expecting,  with  very  anxious  interest,  tho 
coming  decision  of  the  Northern  Methodist  Church 
relative  to  this  question.  It  may  bring  the  important 
issue  sooner  than  some  people  seem  to  expect.  And  yet 
great  preparation  seems  necessary  before  the  coloured 
race  could  take  rank  with  the  whites  in  America. 
Whoever  has  seen  the  country,  and  felt  himself  girt  in 
by  the  prejudices  and  contemptuous  habits  of  the  whites 
towards  the  negroes,  will  fully  understand  how  difficult 
it  is  to  persuade  one's  self  that  the  evil  can  be  swept 
away.  But  with  the  Almighty  Governor  of  nations  this 
is  possible.  With  His  blessing  on  the  struggles  now 
making,  and  with  increasing  and  persevering  efforts, 
enfranchisement  shall  be  won  for  the  poor  negro. 

People  who  have  only  heard  and  read  the  ridiculous 
sketches  of  American  character  and  manners  so  com- 
monly given,  may  affect  to  despise  this  great  Trans- 
atlantic people,  but  those  who  have  been  among  them, 
and  made  due  use  of  every  opportunity  for  observation, 
cannot  do  so.  An  Englishman  may  prefer  his  own 
country,  people,  and  institutions ;  he  may  admire  most 
devotedly  his  own  island  scenes,  all  under  full  cultiva- 
tion, and  rich  in  their  architectural  antiquities  and 
historic  associations ;  he  may  love  the  English  breadth 
of  face  and  figure,  and  rejoice  in  the  fresh,  healthful 
appearance  of  the  men  and  women  of  his  native  land ; 
he  may  exult  in  the  balance  and  spring  of  the  British 
constitution,  and  believe  that,  under  our  beloved 
Sovereign,  it  bestows  more  genuine  freedom  than  whore 
government  is  exercised  by  presidents  who  recklessly 
outbid  each  other  in  promises  for  popularity:  but  with 


ME. 


HUDSON   IlIVER    BROOKLYN,   AND   VOYAGE   HOME.     895 


it  shall 

I.    Ono 

DSt,  tllU 

Church 
portant 
Liid  yet 
oloured 
rncrica. 
girt  in 
)  whites 
difficult 
3  swept 
3118  this 
les  now 
efforts, 
I. 

iiculous 
50  com- 
Trans- 
them, 
rvation, 
lis  own 
re  most 
cultiva- 
les  and 
breadth 
ealthful 
land; 
British 
beloved 
n  whore 
cklessly 
)ut  with 


e 


all  this  preference  and  love  for  happy  Old  England,  an 
observant  mind  cannot  regard  Young  America  without 
admiration  and  hearty  good  wishes. 


Since  writing  the  foregoing  letter,  wo  landed  at 
Liverpool,  and  arrived  safely  at  our  homes,  after  an 
absence  of  nearly  twelve  weeks,  and  an  extent  of 
travelling  of  nearly  11,000  miles.  As  the  steamer 
entered  the  Mersey,  brilliant  rockets  were  profusely 
discharged,  as  signals  to  the  town  of  Liverpool  of  her 
approach.  John  llobinson  Kaye,  Esq.  (who,  with  Dr. 
Wood  and  others,  had  witnessed  our  departure),  met  us 
at  midnight  in  the  river,  where  we  let  full  our  anchor  to 
remain  until  the  morning,  and  informed  us  that  our 
wives  and  friends  were  well,  and  that  Mrs.  Jobson  was 
at  Birkenhead  awaiting  my  arrival.  On  hearing  this,  I 
left  the  steamship  with  Mr.  Kaye,  and  went  ashore, 
grateful  to  God  for  His  sparing  and  protecting  mercies. 
The  next  day,  when  journeying  to  Summerseat,  and 
looking  on  the  trim,  fruitful  scenes  of  my  own  country; 
I  fully  appreciated  the  saying  of  foreigners,  that  it  is 
"all  a  garden,"  and  rejoiced  that  I  was  born  an 
Englishman. 


APPENDIX. 


hepoiit  on  slavery. 

[I'OjfO  260.] 

The  Committee  on  Slavery  picscut  the  following  ns  llicir  report : — 

"Timt  the  reduction  of  a  moral  and  r(>sponsil)le  being  to  the  con- 
dition of  pro])erty  is  u  violation  of  natural  rights,  is  considered  by 
most  men  an  axiom  in  ethics;  but  whatever  opiui(ms  may  have 
obtained  in  general  society,  the  Methodist  Episcopal  (yliurch  luis  ever 
maintained  an  unmistakeablc  anti-slavery  position.  Alfirmations  that 
slavery  is  founded  in  the  philosophy  of  civil  society,  that  it  is  the 
corner-stone  of  Republican  institutions,'  or  that  it  '  is  sanct  ioned  by 
the  Bible,'  have  never  met  M'ith  an  approving  response  in  our  Church. 
Contrariwise,  the  founder  of  Methodism  denounced  the  system  in 
nnqualified  terms  of  condemnation,  and  the  Fathers  unwaveringly 
followed  the  example  of  the  venerated  Wesley. 

"  The  M.  E.  Church  has,  in  good  faith,  in  all  the  periods  of  its  his- 
tory, proposed  to  itself  the  question,  '  What  shall  be  done  for  the 
extirpation  of  the  Evil  of  Slavery  ?'  and  it  has  never  ceased,  openly 
and  before  the  world,  to  bear  its  testimony  against  the  sin,  and  to 
exercise  its  disciplinary  powers  to  the  end  that  its  members  might  be 
kept  unspotted  from  criminal  connection  with  the  system,  and  that 
the  evil  itself  be  removed  from  among  men. 

''  It  is  atHrmed  and  believed  that  the  M.  E.  Church  have  done  in  >re 
to  dilfusp  anti-slavery  scutiments,  to  mitigate  the  evils  of  the  system, 
and  to  abolish  the  institution  from  civil  society  than  any  other  organ- 
imtion,  either  political,  social,  or  religious.  It  is  also  aflirmed  and 
believed  that  the  administration  of  discipline  in  our  Church,  within 
the  bounds  of  Slave  territory,  have  faithfully  done  all  that,  under 
their  circumstances,  they  have  conscientiously  judged  to  be  in  their 
power  to  answer  the  ends  of  the  discipline  in  exterminating  that 
great  evil. 


m-m^  *»*- 1**'*^  -^z:^ 


APPENDIX. 


307 


cport : — 

0  tlic  con- 
lidcrcd  by 
may  have 
li  1ms  ever 
itiona  that 

it  is  ilie 
clioncil  by 
ir  Church. 

system  in 
k^ttvcringly 

of  its  his- 

ic  for  the 

d,  openly 

in,  and  to 

might  be 

and  that 

one  hi  jre 
ic  system, 
icr  organ- 
rmcd  and 
ch,  within 
lat,  under 
in  their 
(i)ig  (hat 


"  At  this  period  in  our  history  \vc  are  met  with  the  iufpiiry — Does 
our  book  of  dis(>i|)liui>  state  clearly  and  dellnitely  our  true  position 
and  our  real  sentiments':'  Does  the  letter  of  the  statute  distinctly 
indieat(!  the  practice  we  propose  l*  We  answer  No,  and  give  from 
among  others  the  following  reasons  for  our  negative  leply.  The  dis- 
cipline does  not,  in  express  teniis,  make  I  lie  .slnveliolder  ineli^il)le  to 
the  Epi8Co|)acy,  and  yet  the  (Jencral  Confer«'uce  of  '11  con.siilered 
itself  justified,  both  by  the  spirit  of  tin;  discipline  and  the  acknow- 
ledged preacher  of  the  Church,  inatlirmingthat  the  relation  of  slave- 
holder was  a  dis(pialiflcation  for  the  olliee  of  a  Hishop,  and  this  it  did 
at  the  expense  of  an  ever-to-be  regretted  division  of  our  ecelesiastieal 
organisation.  The  discipline  declares  that  'when  any  travelling 
preacher  becomes  an  owner  of  a  slave  or  slaves,  by  any  means,  he 
shall  forfeit  his  ministerial  character  in  our  Chureh,  unh'ss  he  execute, 
if  it  be  practicable,  a  legal  emancipation  of  such  slaves  conformably 
to  the  laws  of  the  State  hi  which  he  lives,*  but  the  adininistratit)n 
assuming  that  legal  emancipation  in  the  case  of  travelling  preachers, 
universally  practicable,  does  not  aduiit  a  slaveholder  to  the  itiiieraut 
connexion. 

"Again,  our  discipline  docs  not  distinguish  between  mercenary 
slave-holding  and  the  holding  of  a  slave  for  benevolent  purposes,  and 
yet  idl  the  argunients  found  in  our  ollicial  [)ul)licaiions  or  heard  in  our 
Conference  debates,  by  which  the  admission  of  slaveholders  to  church 
mendjership  is  justilied,  are  based  upon  this  distinction,  and  that  for 
the  obvious  reason  that  the  distinction  itself  does  really  and  justly 
^xist  in  the  pub'ic  n\ind,  and  tin;  jjractice  referred  to  cannot  otherwise 
be  justified.  Our  book  of  discipline  does  not  expressly  enjoin  it  upon 
*iur  members  that  they  secure  to  their  slaves  the  sauctitv  of  the  con- 
jugal and  parental  relations,  and  yet  within  all  the  borders  of  our 
slave-holding  territory,  the  uttered  8US[)icion  that  Methodists  are 
negligent  in  these  regards  would  be  repelled  with  indignation. 

"  We  now  inquire  whether  the  time  has  come  when  it  becomes  the 
duty  of  the  Church  through  its  representatives  assembled  in  its 
highest  ecclesiastical  court,  to  so  revise  the  statutes  of  the  Church 
as  to  make  them  cxjiress  our  real  sentiments,  and  indicate  our  prac- 
tice as  it  is?  We  answer — I  rst,  because  it  is  just  and  equal;  it  is 
right  before  God  and  all  n\(Mi  that  on  a  subject  involving  directly  the 
personal  liberties  of  thousands,  and  indirectly  of  millions,  of  our  fellow- 
men,  the  position  of  the  Church  should  be  neither  equivocal  or  doubt- 


ri 


M 


\  ^ 


398 


APPENDIX. 


ful ;  secondly,  because  we  cannot  answer  it  to  our  own  consciences, 
nor  to  God,  the  Judge  of  all,  if  we  fail  to  do  what  is  in  our  power  to 
bear  testimony  against  so  great  an  evil ;  thirdly,  because  it  is  solemnly 
demanded  at  our  hands  by  a  very  large  majority  of  those  whom  we 
represent ;  and,  fourthly,  because  the  signs  of  the  times  plainly  indi- 
cate that  it  is  the  duty  of  all  good  men  to  rally  for  the  relief  of  the 
oppressed,  and  for  the  defence  of  the  liberties  transmitted  to  us  by 
our  fathers. 

"We  are  aware  that  it  is  objected  that  in  the  present  excited  state 
of  the  public  mind  to  take  any  action  on  the  subject  will  be  to  place 
a  weapon  in  the  hands  of  our  enemies,  with  which  they  may  do  us 
essential  injury.  We  reply  that  in  all  cases  to  say  one  thing,  and 
mean  another,  is  of  doubtful  expedifnici/  as  well  as  of  doubtful  mora- 
lity. We  judge  the  rather  that  on  all  questions  vital  to  morality  and 
religion,  the  honour  of  the  Church  is  better  sustained  by  an  unqualified 
declaration  of  the  truth. 

"  We  come  now  to  state  what,  as  it  seems  to  us,  is,  always  has 
been,  and  ever  should  be,  the  true  position  of  our  Church  in  respect 
to  slavery.  We  hold  that  the  buying,  selling,  and  by  inference,  the 
holding  of  a  human  being,  as  property,  is  a  sin  against  God  and  man ; 
that  because  of  the  social  relations  in  which  men  may  be  placed  by  the 
civil  codes  of  slave-holding  communities,  the  legal  relation  of  master 
to  slave  may,  in  some  circumstances,  submit  innocently ;  that  con- 
r-cetion  with  slavery  \^  prima  facie  evidence  of  guilt;  that  in  all  cases 
of  alleged  criminality  of  this  kind,  the  burden  of  proof  should  rest 
upon  the  accused,  he  always  having  secured  to  him  the  advantages 
of  trial  and  appeal  before  impartial  tribunals.  In  view  of  these  facts 
and  principles,  the  committee  recommend  the  adoption  of  the  follow* 
ing  resolutions : — 

"  Resolved — 1st,  by  the  delegates  of  the  several  annual  Conferences 
in  General  Conference  assembled,  that  we  recommend  the  several 
Annual  Conferences  so  to  amend  our  General  Eule  on  Slavery  as  to 
read — '  The  buying,  selling,  or  holding  a  human  being  as  property.' 

"Resolved — 2nd,  by  the  delegates  of  the  several  Animal  Con- 
ferences in  General  Conference  assembled,  that  the  following  be  and 
hereby  is  substituted  in  the  place  of  the  present  seventh  chapter  of 
our  book  of  discipline,  to  wit — '  What  shall  be  done  for  the  Extir- 
pation of  the  Evil  of  Slavery  ?' 

"  Ans.  1. — We  declare  we  are  as  much  as  ever  convinced  of  the 


APPENDIX. 


399 


isciences, 
power  to 
solemnly 
jvrhom  we 
inly  indi- 
ef  of  the 
to  us  by 

ited  state 
3  to  place 
lay  do  us 
liing,  and 
ful  mora- 
rality  and 
nqualified 

Iways  has 

in  respect 

rence,  the 

and  man ; 

!cd  by  the 

of  master 

that  con- 

1  all  cases 

lould  rest 

dvantages 

lese  facts 

he  follow* 

inferences 
le  several 
*rery  as  to 
•operty.' 
lual  Con- 
ig  be  and 
lapter  of 
he  Extir- 

;d  of  the 


great  evil  of  Slavery.  We  believe  that  all  men,  by  nature,  have  an 
equal  right  to  Preedom,  and  that  no  man  has  a  moral  right  to  hold 
a  fellow-being  as  property ;  tlierefore,  no  slaveholder  shall  be  eligible 
to  membersliip  in  our  Church  hereafter,  where  emancipation  can  be 
effected  without  injury  to  the  slave.  But,  inasmuch  as  persons  may 
be  brought  into  the  legal  relation  of  slaveholders,  involuntarily  or 
voluntarily,  by  purchasing  slaves  in  order  to  free  them,  therefore  the 
merely  legal  relation  shall  not  be  considered,  of  itself,  sufficient  to 
exclude  a  person  who  may  thus  sustain  it,  from  tlie  fellowship  of  the 
Church. 

"Ans.  2. — Whenever  a  member  of  our  Church,  by  any  means, 
becomes  the  owner  of  a  slave,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  preacher  in 
charge  to  call  together  a  committee,  of  at  least  three  members,  who 
shall  investigate  the  case,  and  determine  the  time  in  which  such  slave 
shall  be  free,  and  on  his  refusal  or  neglect  to  abide  by  the  decision  of 
said  committee,  he  shall  be  dealt  with  as  in  case  of  immorality. 

"  Am.  3. — It  shall  be  the  duty  of  all  our  members  and  probationers, 
who  may  sustain  the  legal  relation  of  slaveholder,  to  teach  their 
servants  to  read  the  word  of  God;  to  allow  them  to  attend  the 
public  worship  of  God,  on  oiu'  regular  days  of  divine  service ;  to  pro- 
tect them  in  tlie  observance  of  the  duties  of  the  conjugal  and  parental 
relations  ;  to  give  them  such  compensation  for  their  services  as  may, 
under  the  circumstances,  be  just  and  equal ;  to  make  such  provisions 
as  may  be  legally  practicable,  to  prevent  them  and  their  posterity 
from  passing  into  perpetual  slavery,  and  to  treat  them  in  all  respects 
as  required  by  the  law  of  love. 

"Am.  4. — It  shall  be  the  duty  of  our  preachers  prudently  to 
enforce  the  above  rules. 

"  All  of  wliich  is  respectfully  submitted. 

"  M.  Raymond,  Chairman." 


THE   END. 


J.  d.  VIUTCK,  PUI.NTEK,  (;llk   KUAU. 


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WITH    NUMEBOUS    ILLUSTRATIONS    ON    8TEBL, 

GUIDE  TO  FAMILY  DEVOTION. 

BT  TUB 

REV.  ALEXANDER  FLETCHER,  D.D., 

OF  FINSBDRY  CIIAPBL,  LONDON. 

Containing  730  Hymns,  730  Prayers,  and  730  Passages  of  Soriptnre, 

WITH   APPROPRIATE   REFLECTIONS, 

AND  A  VARIETY  OF   PBAYTCRS   CONNECTED  WITH   AKFLICTIVE  AND 
OTHER  EVENTS  OF   PROVIDENCE. 


Twenty  years  of  uniiiternipted  popularity,  the  issue  of  more  than  Fifty 
thousand  copies,  and  a  still  increasing  demand,  are  sufficient  evidences  of  the 
sterling  merit  of  any  Work,  and  form  a  testimonial  of  its  value  which  seldom 
falls  to  the  lot  of  a  living  author  to  receive.  Such,  however,  is  now  the 
position  of  the  Rev.  Alexander  Fletcher's  Guide  to  Family  Devotion. 
These  flattering  results  are  rendered  still  more  gratifying  when  the  approval 
of  numerous  Ministers  of  the  Gospel,  of  every  denomination  of  Protestantism, 
can  be  educed  in  proof  of  the  truly  devotional  spirit  of  the  whole,  and  of  its 
total  freedom  from  Sectarianism  ;  and,  further,  when  it  can  be  shown  that 
its  circulation  in  the  Uuited  States  and  in  the  British  Colonies  has  been  fully 
equal  to  that  which  it  has  secured  at  home.  Encouraged  by  these  evidences 
of  the  high  esteem  in  which  the  Guide  to  Family  Devotion  is  held  by  a 
large  body  of  the  Christian  Public,  and  anxious  to  extend  the  sphere  of  use- 
fulness that,  under  the  Divine  blessing,  the  Author  and  Publisher  trust  that 
it  has  already  created,  they  have  uuited  their  efforts  in  the  production  of  an 
entirely  New  Edition. 

Letters  have  been  received  from  the  following  Christian  Ministers^  of  various 
Denominations,  in  favour  of  tlie  Rev.  Alexander  Fletcher's  "Ouide  to 
Family  Devotion." 


Rev.  H.  Stebbino,  D.D.,  F.R.S.,  Hamp- 
stead-road 
W.  B.  CoLLTEK,  D.D.,  Peckham 
J.  Habris,  D.D.,  St.  John's  Wood 
J.  Shebman,  Surrey  Chapel 
J.  A.  James,  Birmingham 
J.  Pte  Smith,  Homerton 
G.  CoLLisoN,  D.D.,  Hackney 
T.  Raffles,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Liverpool 


Rev.  T.  BiNNET,  Weigh-tiouse 
James  Pabsonb,  York 
W.  Jat.  Bath 
P.  A.  Cox,  D.D.,  Hackney 
J.  Clayton,  Poultry 
John  Ely,  Leeds 
J.  Davis,  Bristol 
J.  Yocno,  Albion  Chapel 
G.  Lawbon,  Selkirk. 


In  addition  to  the  Testimonials  of  English  Ministers,  nearly  One  Hundred 
of  the  most  influential  Clergymen  of  America  have  testified,  by  letter,  their 
high  commendation  of  the  excellence  and  great  utility  of  this  Work. 

JAMES   S.    VIRTUE,    CITY   ROAD,   AND   IVY   LANE,    LONDON. 


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